The Red Hood
by PiLamdaOd
Summary: Sometimes accidents happen. Some are harmless and others, are tragic. When trying to teach their friend an important lesson Weiss and Blake make a horrific mistake. Will what's left of RWBY be able to save those closest to them before its to late?
1. Into the woods

A red-cloaked girl dashed first left then right with lightning speed, nimbly dodging the incoming gunfire. She pointed her own weapon, a large sniper rifle, at her attacker, a red haired girl in gold armor wielding a short rifle with a round shield strapped to her left arm. Ruby Rose leaped backward firing her sniper rifle at the shield wielding Pyrrha Nikos. The force from the blast propelled Ruby backward at great speed. Pyrrha, having ducked to avoid the shots from Ruby's rifle, reared her left arm back, twisting her upper body to match. The gold armored warrior let out a powerful grunt as she spun her arm forward releasing her shield, launching it into Ruby as she was coming to a stop.

Ruby let out a high-pitched yelp when the shield impacted her stomach. As the shield returned to its master, Pyrrha took a moment to glance at her scroll. Displayed on the rectangular handheld device was a picture of both Ruby and Pyrrha with a green bar under each picture. The green bars represented the fighters' remaining auras, acting as both their protective shield and the source of their powerful Semblances. Both Pyrrha and Ruby's auras were growing critically low. Because of this Pyrrha knew this demonstration duel was going to end soon. Using her speed semblance Ruby catapulted herself toward her opponent. She fired her weapon behind her to enhance her momentum. The girl in the red cloak spun her weapon forward as it unfurled into a seven-foot long scythe intent on delivering a devastating slash to Pyrrha. As Ruby rapidly closed the distance between them, Pyrrha darted toward Ruby whilst her rifle transformed into its spear mode. When Ruby neared Pyrrha, her target raised her left hand slightly, activating her magnetism control semblance to lift Ruby's scythe, and Ruby along with it, high enough for Pyrrha to duck under it. Ruby came to rest just behind where Pyrrha had skidded to a stop. Using what momentum she had left Ruby spun her scythe in a large arc striking its blunt end into the back of Pyrrha's head launching her across the stage.

A buzzard rang out. "Match." Called the blond haired Professor Goodwitch. "Ms Rose is the winner."

"Good job Ruby." Said Pyrrha as she lifted herself up.

"Thanks Pyrrha, you too" Replied the energetic Ruby.

"Go Ruby!" Yelled the excited Yang, Ruby's big sister and member of her team.

Ruby then gleefully pranced off the stage to her awaiting team. Team RWBY.

All the other students gave the customary round of applause while Goodwitch started lecturing about what each competitor did right and wrong. Except for Pyrrha's teammate Nora. The girl in pink playfully stuck her tongue out at team RWBY.

"As a reminder children," Goodwitch spoke to her class, "the Vital festival is fast approaching and if you wish to represent Beacon I would encourage you all to train much harder. That is all for the day."

Team RWBY exited the lecture hall with the rest of their classmates, Ruby gleefully skipping ahead of the group. '_Always with the boundless energy'_ thought Weiss, Ruby's teammate and partner.

* * *

Later that evening teams RWBY and JNPR were sitting down together as per their usual in the Beacon dining hall. Yang was picking at her food. She had not been feeling well for most of the day and wasn't very hungry. She only came down here under Blake's strict orders. Nora was recounting an overly embellished tale about her and Ren's past exploits, while Ren would occasionally interject to correct her more outlandish claims.

"... and when we returned the amazed towns folk held a parade!" Nora exclaimed as she finished up her tale.

"No they didn't" Ren calmly interjected. Not that Nora gave it any notice.

Now that Nora's grand story was over Weiss straightened up in her seat, cleared her throat and stated to the group in the authoritative manner her team came to expect from an heiress of her status. "Now that the tournament is coming up I feel that as a team," She paused to place her hand on her chest and look around at her team. Blake was reading one of her books while Yang and Ruby watched the girl dressed in white give her speech. "We need to seriously consider spending more time practicing. This is our chance to show the world that Beacon is indeed the premiere combat school."

"Weiss, you just want to show off to all the other competitors." Responded Ruby.

"And so what if I do? It is still our duty as Beacon's newest class to represent it in the festival and you three are spending too much time dilly dallying." Retorted Weiss.

"A little more practice wouldn't be a bad idea." Said Blake as she looked over the book in her hands.

Pyrrha looked to her team leader Jaune and said to him: "I think Weiss here makes a good point. Your combat skills are still lacking." Jaune responded with a sheepish grin.

"Does this mean we are gonna have to waste our weekends training?" complained Yang.

"If it means we'll be better huntresses its not a waste." Blake calmly replied to her partner's comment.

The girl in the hood responded to the conversation. "Na, team RWBY is already awesome!" Ruby stood on the bench and placed her left foot on the table. "We are already the coolest and best fighting huntresses ever." She said while mock boxing an imaginary opponent to accentuate her point. "Especially their fearless leader Ruby," She placed her hands on her hips in her attempt to strike a hero pose. "The best female team leader Beacon has ever had!" Her teammates rolled their eyes in unison. "Ohh they put out fresh cookies!" Exclaimed the young leader as she sped off using her semblance to disappear in the blink of an eye.

Weiss looked at her remaining teammates. "That girl is way too overconfident. She needs to learn that she is not as great as she thinks she is."

"She's just excited that's all." said Yang.

"I don't know Yang, overconfidence like that could lead to her getting hurt in the field." Replied Blake.

"We just don't want to see our teammate getting hurt that's all." Said Weiss.

* * *

The next day team RWBY found themselves and their classmates riding an airship deep into the Emerald Forest. Professor Port insisted on taking the students on what he called a "simple field trip."

Yang, feeling worse than the day before, much to her disappointment, decided to forgo the excursion and stay in bed.

Ruby was visibly excited by the prospect of encountering some creatures of Grimm. She could hardly sit still on the airship and spent a good deal of the trip humming to herself.

After landing in a large clearing and disembarking the airship, the class was treated to Port regaling them with a tale of another one of his grand exploits. When he finally finished his story the professor addressed the class about why he had taken them all the way out here. "To truly be a hunter one must know their prey. Including how to track them. In this area there have been reports of a small pack of Beowolves. While they should pose no problem to up and coming huntsman and huntresses such as yourselves. Your real challenge however, will be finding them. You and your team will need to use all your skill and cunning to track these beasts in their environment. Good luck." He finished, waving his blunderbuss ax for effect.

Ruby was enjoying this trip. A chance to go out and hunt some grimm with her best friends. She gleefully skipped ahead of her two companions.

* * *

"Ruby," Weiss called out to her, "do you have any idea where we're going?"

"To find the beowolves."

"And do you have any ideas on how to find them?" Replied a slightly annoyed Weiss.

"Um... I guess we look around until we find them?"

Weiss rolled her eyes at her leader's response. But she couldn't help but be amused with Ruby's attitude even as she feigned annoyance. That girl was always plunging headlong into danger whether or not she even had a plan, always certain that things would work out. Weiss knew this ever since their first trip into this forest when Ruby charged headlong into a deathstalker and Weiss had to rush to her aid.

While her leader may not be quite so impulsive as when they first met Ruby's attitude still worried her. Weiss was scared that the young leader may soon get herself seriously hurt.

_'This is fun.'_ Thought Ruby. 'Three huntresses, alone, just them and their leader versus the forces of darkness.' A moment of sadness hit Ruby as she remembered her sister. _'Yang would have loved this. She never misses a chance to beat something up.' _

Lost in thought Ruby failed to notice her teammates' hushes conversation taking place several yards behind her.

Blake and Weiss stopped near the top of a wooded hill.

Weiss folded her arms and called to her friend.

"Ruby. Can we talk?"

Ruby sprinted back to her friends. "Sure. What's up?"

Weiss continued, "Blake and I have been talking and...well you see..."

Blake cut into Weiss's pause, "you've been acting to recklessly lately. "

"She means to say that you act like nothing can hurt you."

"I am not" Replied Ruby.

Blake and Weiss gave Ruby disapproving looks.

"We're worried about you that's all." Said Blake. "You act like you're invincible all the time and its going to get you hurt."

Ruby spat back, "What about you? You see Torchwick with a small army and you still charge in. How is that not worse than what I do?"

"That's different and you know it."

"How is it different Blake? I can handle my self just like you can."

Weiss shook her head and said to Blake, "See, I told you this would go nowhere."

She gestured toward Ruby as she spoke. "Ruby, since you're so sure you can handle yourself, prove it!" Weiss reached down with her left hand and grasped the handle of her weapon, a rapier with a rotating cylinder just above its handle. Myrtenaster. With her left foot and elbow forward Weiss pointed her weapon at Ruby and shot herself forward as if gliding on air. Before Ruby could react Myrtenaster struck its target sending Ruby catapulting into a nearby tree. Shattering its trunk. Ruby let out a soft "oof" as she landed on her butt at the base of what once was a tree. Her aura absorbing most of the impacts.

When Ruby regained her footing she gave her friends a smirk and drew her own weapon in its scythe form and impaling its blade into the soft forest floor. "If you two want to play."

Blake just rolled her eyes and unsheathed Gambol Shroud in its sword from from her back.

Ruby sprinted at Weiss and swung Crescent Rose at the heiress, slicing through a small tree in the process. Although Weiss blocked the hit with her rapier its impact still caused her to slide toward the hillside.

Using her clone semblance Blake leaped in the air in an attempt to vault the newly freed tree that, thanks to Ruby, had started its roll down the hill. Unfortunately Blake failed to see a large limb coming off one side of the oncoming tree. This limb smacked into the faunus sending her flying into the canopy of a nearby tree.

"Look, kitty's stuck in a tree." Weiss remarked when she saw Blake come to rest in the branches.

Ruby couldn't help but grin at her friend's lame attempt at humor. The hooded girl swung her scythe at Weiss who leaped sideways to avoid the hit causing her to slide down the embankment on a glyph she quickly created beneath her. Ruby gave chase. Seeing this Weiss used Myrtenaster to fire streaks of white light at her pursuer. Ruby dashed left then right to avoid the oncoming fire. This caused Weiss's attack to strike several trees behind Ruby, adding to the rapidly growing number of trees barreling down the hill.

Blake shot part of Gambol Shroud into a tree down the hill and pulled on its attached ribbon to quickly send herself ahead of where Weiss currently was. Ruby quickly spun her weapon behind her and fired a round, launching herself into the air and allowing a tree to roll under her. She then landed on another tree. With lightning reflexes Ruby began sprinting backward to keep herself on the rolling trunk. Seeing Ruby's precarious predicament Weiss once again fired Myrtenaster at Ruby. Without many other options Ruby flung herself right off the log to avoid Weiss's attack. Using her scythe Ruby sliced through several trees as she passed hoping to slow down her descent.

A wave of logs was rapidly closing in on Weiss. She leaped into the air landing on a newly placed glyph allowing several trees to pass under her.

A shot rang out as Blake launched Gambol Shroud into a standing tree just ahead of Ruby, leaving its ribbon across her path. Ruby didn't have time to react before she was close lined by the faunus's weapon. She flipped backwards crashing into the ground.

"You okay Ruby?" Asked Blake as she returned Gambol Shroud to her hand.

Smiling Ruby returned to her feet. "I'm alright. All according to plan."

"Watch out!" Shouted the heiress.

Ruby turned up hill to see a group of logs barreling toward her. She only had time to raise her weapon out in front of her to act as a shield.

The mass of fallen trees crashed through the girl in the red hood, seemingly uninhibited by the young huntresses.

"Ruby! " Weiss called out in a panic as the wave passed over her friend.

As soon as the last of the logs finished passing over, Weiss dropped down from her glyph perch. As she landed Ruby returned to her feet. "Are you okay?" Weiss shouted.

Ruby only replied with a smile as the bruised girl readied her weapon for another attack.

_'That girl doesn't know when to quit.'_ Thought Weiss. She had to admit that was something she admired about Ruby.

Upon seeing Ruby beckon her with Crescent Rose, Weiss readied herself in her combat stance.

_'She sure is crazy.' _

"Sorry Ruby, but you asked for it."

Weiss launched forward ready to send Ruby flying and end this duel.

_'Something... didn't feel right.'_ The thoughts in Weiss's mind raced through her at a million miles a second.

_'This feels wrong... This impact should have been harder.'_ She could see Ruby being hit with Myrtenaster with; strange red objects coming from her. _'Is she using her semblance to avoid my attack? It does look like roses.'_

The heiress felt the mysterious objects touch her face.

_'They're wet? They can't...'_ The horrible realization struck her like a freight train.

_'OH GOD NO!'_

* * *

**Author's notes:**

**This is my first time so be gentle. I was influenced by "The Red Queen" and ****"the Grimm's Rose" **by Dravyn LeCrux. (Side note, it wasn't until I wrote that last sentence that I realized both stories were written by the same author.) They are fantastic check them out.

**This is an idea I have been playing with for a while now and I decided to write it down. Hopefully I will have chapter two ready for you guys soon.**


	2. The choice

'_No no no no no.' _was all the Schee heiress could think as she watched almost in slow motion, her teammate, her friend, impaled through the chest with Weiss's own weapon. Ruby began to slide backward off the rapier, collapsing to the ground, and sliding down the hill. She came to rest against a small tree several yards down the hill, not far from where the severed logs had come to rest. She left a trail of crimson blood in her wake. Still paralyzed from what she had done, Weiss could only silently watch.

"Ruby!" cried the panicked Blake as she rushed to her fallen teammate.

'_This can't be happening. This can't be happening.' _Was racing through her mind as she reached Ruby. "Ruby" she shouted her name again and again as she grabbed her friend by her shoulders and took in the sight.

Ruby had a hole through what looked like her stomach and out her back. Blood was pouring everywhere and Blake couldn't tell if she was breathing.

Blake was panicking and unable to think straight. '_Oh god what do I? There's so much blood how do I help her? Her aura must have been depleted to much during the duel. Why didn't she quit? How do I help her, what do I do? Blake!' _She thought to herself '_You're a huntress, you know what to do. Now, Think!' _The Faunus took a step back from Ruby and began counting in her head to focus her mind.

'_...8...9...10. Now Blake, what do you need to do to save Ruby?'_

'_I need to stop the bleeding.'_

'_Good, now how are you gonna do that?'_

'_I need something to apply pressure to the wound. Her hood!'_

With that Blake rushed to Ruby's side, got on her knees and began to undo the clasps holding the young girl's hood to her armor.

"I'm sorry Ruby." Blake said has she pulled the hood free from the girl and bunched it up in her hands ready to press it to the hole in Ruby's chest. As she was about to press the hood to Ruby's wound, Blake felt something from her aura. Danger she thought. Blake turned around to see Weiss still standing as she was when she impaled Ruby, covered in her friend's blood. Blake could see movement coming out of the forest behind behind Weiss. Before Blake could react one of the beowolves they were charged with hunting, attracted by the commotion and the blood, tore out of the forest and lunged at Weiss. Distracted by what she had just done, Wiess failed to notice the threat and received the full force of the beowolf's claws to her back.

"Weiss!" Shouted Blake as she rushed to her teammate's aid. She fired Gambol Shroud at her friend's attacker, wounding it. As she neared Weiss more beowolves started coming out of the woods and began to hone in on their targets. Blake scooped up Weiss in her arms. The girl was bleeding bad. Blake could see one group of her attackers were beginning to surround her and another, surrounding Ruby.

'_There's no way I can fight all of them like this. Weiss can't help me either and both of them need to get to a hospital fast' _

Blake assessed her situation and realized there was only one thing she could do.

'_I'm sorry Ruby. I am so sorry.' _Blake thought as she turned toward the top of the hill and sprinted away using her shadow clone to boost her speed.

'_Please forgive me.'_

* * *

Ruby was drifting in and out of consciousness, unable to move. She could see the beowolves surrounding them. She could see Blake rush to Weiss's aid, and she could see blake turn away and leave her behind.

'_Blake, don't go. Please don't leave me.'_

'_Come back...'_

A tear began to form in Ruby's eye as the beowolves surrounded her and the darkness consumed her.

* * *

Upon returning to the airship Blake informed Port that her team had been attacked by the beowolves and Ruby was cut down as she tried to protect the injured Weiss. Blake and Weiss were evacuated while Port called in a team to find and save Miss Rose.

On the airship while the medical team was looking after Wiess, Blake realized she was still holding on to Ruby's red hood. She clutched it in both hands, dropped her face into its soft embrace, and cried.

* * *

**Aurthur's note: This was a shorter chapter. Probably shorter then anything else I will add to this story. It's just that this felt like a good place to leave it for now.**

**As always and comments are welcome. I really hope you guys enjoyed this.  
**


	3. Those left behind

'_Blake! Weiss! Where are you going? Please don't leave me. They must be going to get help. Yes, that has to be it.'_

'_Your friends abandoned you little one.'_

'_They...They left me. To die. Why Blake? Why Weiss? You left me to die. You didn't care about me. You didn't even try to save me.'_

'_They wanted to hurt you little one.'_

'_Weiss, she stabbed me with her sword; and Blake was helping her. They planned this. They wanted me gone. I thought they were my friends...'_

* * *

To Blake the flight to Vale was excruciating. Trapped in this metal can. One friend seriously hurt, and another, Blake couldn't afford to dwell on that fight now. At this moment Weiss needed her, and soon, so would Yang.

Blake was accustomed to hurting people. She had spent her time in the more violent White Fang. But this was different. Before, whenever she hurt someone there was a reason behind it. She did what she did to help others, those who could not help themselves. The people what were hurt had it coming. They always brought it on themselves. Whether buy discriminating against her kind, by hurting them, or supporting those who did, either way those people always did something to warrant the use of Blake's skills.

'_But what did Ruby do? Why did it have to be her? If anyone why not me? Why did I have to choose which of my friends, my only friends, to save?' _These questions cycled through Blake's mind like a whirl pool. Whenever she thought she had pushed these questions to the back of her mind they would come back to torment her.

Blake clutched the injured heiress's hand, trying to comfort her. Weiss needed that. Not just from the pain of her injuries, but from something else. Something the doctors could not have diagnosed, and were never going to know. For Blake had already decided that no one was going to learn the truth of what she and Weiss had done to Ruby. She had another friend to protect and that was all that mattered right now.

* * *

'_My friends, they wanted me dead. Not just that, they wanted to murder me.'_

'_Your friends sliced you open little one, and left you for the slaughter.'_

'_They left me alive to be consumed by the Grimm. They knew I was still alive and yet they still left me to be eviscerated by the very beasts we swore to destroy. They are monsters, worse than the grim.'_

'_Someone needs to stop your friends little one, before they hurt someone else.'_

'_Blake and Weiss need to brought to justice. No, that's not enough They need to be punished and never allowed to hurt me or anyone else again.'_

* * *

The heiress opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. This room was large, much larger than one would expect from a hospital room. She could tell that she was in the corner of the building for two of the walls had large windows. Through a gap in the elegant curtains that adorned those windows Weiss could see the lights of Vale. An end table sat next to her hospital bed. On it sat a lamp. Off to the other side of her bed sat monitoring equipment and an I.V. that was inserted into her arm. This room was quite exceptional. Weiss would have expected nothing less for the daughter of whom this wing had been donated.

This hospital room was normally intended to be for a single patient. Wealth and status brought along such benefits. But across from Weiss sat another bed and set of monitoring equipment. Weiss had inhabited enough well-formed interiors to know this second bed did not belong in here. Upon seeing the raven haired faunus trying to sleep in that bed Weiss could not help but smile. When she first arrived at his Vale hospital she berated the hospital staff and insisted she and her teammate not be separated, and that her friend should receive the best possible care. Even though Blake's injuries were comparatively minor, Weiss would not stand for Blake to be sent to some five patient room with sub standard doctors fresh out of medical school.

Weiss could see that the faunus was trying to slip into sleep, but it was obvious to the heiress that Blake was failing at this task. Something was plaguing her thoughts, keeping that elusive sleep just out of her grasp, and Weiss knew exactly what is was.

"Blake, are you up?" Weiss asked, already knowing the answer.

"I am Weiss. I just...I keep thinking about what happened. Replaying it in my mind wondering what else I should have done. If I had only done something else maybe, just maybe she would be here."

After learning that the rescue team had so far failed to find Ruby, Blake knew she could never forgive herself for what happened.

"There was nothing you could have done. This was my fault."

The faunus looked into her teammate's blue eyes, "It was both of our faults. We did this. Its our fault she is gone."

With that silence returned to the hospital room. In the hours since their arrival at the hospital this was the first time Weiss and Blake had spent alone. When they first arrived they were separated, taken to different areas of the hospital to have their wounds cleaned and stitched up. After the two were reunited in their hospital room much of the duo's time was taken up with checks from the doctors, a representative from the search and rescue team inquiring for more information as to where they should look for Ruby, and a visit from Weiss's father and sister. Even though she was hidden by the curtain drawn across her bed, Blake could sense that this wasn't the happiest of reunions. While Blake assumed most families in this situation would be rushing to their loved one's side with many tears being shed, and "I love you"s being said; this one felt almost devoid of emotion. The reaction from Weiss's sister felt as though a visit to her sister in the hospital was just something she was expected to do.

After her family's visit Weiss was then forced to meet with Schnee family lawyers. They warned her against saying anything to the police without them being present. Even without knowing what really happened in the forest, her family's lawyers did not want her to say anything that could lead to the police charging her or worse, Ruby's family suing Weiss for anything she may have done.

With all that done Weiss and Blake could finally spend a moment of peace together. Finally Weiss could maybe spend a moment not thinking about what happened and just enjoy as much as she could being near someone who was not demanding information or telling her what to do. She could just be somewhere quiet.

Abruptly the door into the room slammed open with a tremendous crash. "YOU!" The outburst from the entity who just entered the room resonated in the once peaceful place. Both Blake and Weiss shot up to attention in their beds turning their startled faces toward the door. Standing in the doorway was a blond haired girl with burning red eyes wearing an orange tank top adorned with a flame emblem, brown boy shorts, knee-high leather platform boots, and a yellow gauntlet on each arm. This avatar of anger stood before them, every inch of her coated in a fire that radiated a heat that even from where they sat, Blake and Weiss could feel its burn.

"I found you." The intruder spoke in a caring, almost motherly tone. Upon seeing her two teammates sitting in this hospital room, Yang's fire died down, her eyes returned to their normal lilac color and a smile spread across her once anger filled face. "I'm so happy you two are okay." she said as a feeling of relief spread through her frame and she rushed to Blake's side.

Weiss could see that Yang was still wearing her pajamas. She knew the girl must have rushed over here as soon as she got the news, having only paused to grab her boots and weapons. Weiss was aware that a patient's room assignment was strictly confidential and only a family member could be made aware of it. Judging by the look of the brawler when she first entered the room, Weiss feared to imagine in what state the reception desk was currently in, or the receptionist for that matter.

Yang pulled Blake into an exceptionally powerful hung, even for her. A pang of guilt struck Blake like a stake in the heart. This girl had been told the lie about what happened to her baby sister, and she believed it to be the truth. After realising the faunus, Yang rushed to Weiss. Weiss braced for the impact.

Weiss yelled in a panic as the blond approached, "Stitches. Yes, I...uh...have a bunch of stitches in my back you see and you hugging me may pull them out. You don't want to do that now do you?" Weiss hoped that the hastily constructed excuse would allow her to keep her ribs just as intact as she preferred them.

Admitting defeat the yellow haired girl merely placed her right hand on Weiss's shoulder, looked the girl in the eyes and smiled. "What ever you say Ice Queen."

After several moments of silence Yang spoke again. To everyone in the room Yang was barely holding back tears. "I heard what Ruby did for you."

Weiss could not look at Yang as she spoke, remembering the lie she and Blake used.

"Ya, she tried to save me. Ruby was very brave."

"That's my baby sister, always doing something stupid."

With that Yang could no longer hold it in. She rushed to her partner, wrapped herself in Blake's embrace and cried. Blake tried to comfort her as best she could, however only ended up on tears as well. Laying there Yang and Blake cried together for what seemed like hours.

Hours later Blake was unable to sleep Across from her laid Weiss, she was on enough pain meds that sleep was not an issue. On the floor to Blake's left was Yang. Sprawled out on the cool tile floor the Blond had refused to leave her teammates. Blake suspected that Yang also did not want to be alone tonight, not that Blake could blame her. Reaching under her pillow Blake grasped a piece of fabric. She had refused to part with it. Even when the doctors were working on her, Blake had not let this out of her sight. Gingerly stepping out of bed Blake looked over her sleeping partner. Kneeling down she draped Ruby's red hood over the sleeping form.

* * *

'_I need to stop them. They are going to hurt me again. They are going to hurt others. I must punish them and if people get in my way so be it. Anyone who protects them is just as guilty.'_

'_You can't do this by yourself, little one.'_

'_I'll need help. Yes that's it. I need to find people who will help me. People who can fight. People who can kill.'_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Generally I don't care for action sequences in writing. Normally they come off as confusing and hard to follow. So this is more of the writing I prefer. I like the more psychological story telling. Fun fact by the way. I did not intend to call this series "The Red Hood." That was originally a typo I didn't catch until after the story was published. But I've decided to go with it. It's a nice title.**

**As always let me know what you think of the story. **


	4. Unfamiliar surroundings

'_I don't want them to hurt me again. I won't allow them to hurt me or my sister. I have to protect everyone from those two but I can't do this on my own.'_

* * *

Light. The brightness was all Ruby could comprehend. She knew where ever she was this place was bright. The swirling darkness that was her unconsciousness had been abruptly lifted. Ruby felt as though reality had swiftly crashed into her peaceful state. Now all she could perceive was light.

When Ruby opened her eyes she found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. An intricate pattern of leaves and branches adorned its white facade. She stared at the ceiling as she felt her energy returning to her weakened form. Her aura flowed through her chest and out her extremities.

'_So, I'm alive. I guess I'll count that as a victory then.' _She began clenching and releasing her right fist. '_Ok, I can move. So Ruby time for your next mission, sit up.'_

With that Ruby took in a long deep breath. She then released it and immediately began to sit up. A searing pain shot through her abdomen. '_Come on Ruby you can do this. Its just some pain; don't let it beat you.' _Taking another deep breath she forced her way past the pain and moved into a sitting position. '_Mission accomplished Ruby. Now, where am I?'_

Ruby began to access her situation. She was sitting up in what looked to her like a hospital bed. An I.V. was insertated into her left arm as well as what felt like another tube coming out of somewhere she did not want to think about. '_A catheter, lovely.' _ Looking at her right index finger she could see a device was clipped to it. Attached to one end of the device was a cord that led to the bank of monitoring equipment next to her. She realized that it must be a heart rate monitor on her finger and that equipment must be medical instruments and monitors. From her new position Ruby could see the ceiling also held what she thought was a beautiful chandelier. It was gold with six arms spiraling out from its center. Each arm ended in a single sphere of light. To her left was a wall with floor to ceiling windows which would have taken up the whole length of wall was it not for the sliding glass door. The glass door lead out to what looked to her like a balcony. Daylight streamed through the drawn curtains. The walls were green with a similar pattern to the ceiling pressed into its finish. Across from where she sat was a large wooden desk and a ceiling height bookshelf that was nearly as long as it was tall. An area rug was laid across the wood floor in the center of the room.

Ruby realized that this couldn't have been a hospital room. In fact to Ruby this felt this must have been a bedroom which was repurposed into this hospital room. A bedroom in a mansion from what Ruby would gleam.

Getting information from whoever's house this was became Ruby's next mission. '_First I need to find someone who knows what's going on.'_ Finding it to painful to move out of bed, Ruby needed a new plan. Looking at her heart rate monitor Ruby realized there was a simple way to expedite this whole fact finding process. She reached over with her left hand and removed the monitor. Almost instantly one of the pieces of equipment next to her let out an ear splitting alarm. Within seconds a female doctor wearing a short lab coat and a male nurse in hospital scrubs rushed into the room believing their patient had just flatlined.

Ruby looked at the pair as their looks of worry were replaced by ones of relief and confusion.

"So, you two. I have a couple of questions, where am I and what is going on?"

* * *

Several minutes later Ruby found herself sitting in her hospital bed with a woman sitting in a chair next to her. The woman looked to be in her late twenties with brown hair and deep emerald eyes. She wore a floor length long sleeved green dress. The shoulders were a deep red along with the top of each arm stretching down to the hands. Ruby could also observe what looked to her like a several inch wide scale pattern that wrapped around each arm as well as around the body of the dress.

The woman spoke to Ruby in a caring yet authoritative tone. "Hello there Ruby. First why don't we get the obvious questions out of the way shall we? My name is Kaana and you are in my home. You have been recovering here for the better part of two weeks. We brought you here after your friends," Kaana put a condescending tone on "friends". "left you to die at the hands of beowolves after attacking you."

"How did you know…"

Kaana cut her off. "Who you were? Easy." She reached her left arm behind her leaving the palm outstretched. The assistant behind her, a faunus girl not much older than Ruby with orange and black striped ears and a long matching tail, wearing a suit coat and glasses, handed her boss a scroll. Kaana held the scroll up to her face and began to read.

"Ruby Rose, fifteen years old. Attended Signal Academy, never graduated. Accepted into Beacon Academy two years early. Very impressive by the way. Made leader of team RWBY which also consists of Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee dust company; Blake Belladonna, formerly of the White Fang; and Yang Xiao Long, your paternal half sister. Should I go on?"

Ruby felt a twinge of hatred when she heard Blake and Weiss's names.

"How did you know all that?"

"Ruby, in my line of work it pays to keep well informed of anyone who could be a potential hire, and I pay very well to be informed. Why most of my current staff attended compat schools. So, when a group of students is sent into the forest not far from me to demonstrate their skills you best believe I would be close by to observe. Infact if it weren't for that need to observe you would not still be alive miss Rose."

"I see. Well um, thank you very much miss Kaana."

Kaana gave Ruby a warm smile. "it was my pleasure. So far we have kept the news of your rescue strictly confidential. We wouldn't want your would be murderers to know you were helplessly incapacitated."

"But enough talk." Kaana said as she patted Ruby's knee and rose from her seat. "There will be time enough for that later. Now I do believe I have taken up enough of everyone's time. Your doctors must be eager to check you over now that you are awake. I will leave them to it. Good day miss Rose." And with that Ruby watched was her host walked to the door.

Ruby's doctor then guided her back into a laying position. After the pain from her wound subsided she felt a surge of anger remembering where the wound came from. '_I will get get them. Blake and Weiss will pay.'_

Kaana left however she turned back toward Ruby and said, "We are all glad you're finally wake little one." With that, she left the room.

* * *

Weiss wandered the dark lonely halls of Beacon lost in thought. The results of her mistake occupied her mind. Her reflection turned to Yang. The intervening weeks had been hard on Ruby's sister. Spending nearly every waking moment participating in the search for her sister left her more exhausted then she would admit too. Even Ozpin gave up trying to convince the brawler to take break from joining search teams. When after five days the decision was made to call off the search, Yang nearly attacked the officer in charge of the operation. She would have were it not for the quick reaction time of professor Goodwitch who managed to restrain the enraged girl. Even after the official search was called off Yang spent another three days searching by herself. She was only accompanied by her teammates who knowing they could not stop her, elected to join for Yang's safety. This would have gone on longer were it not for intervention by Yang's father. Weiss thought it would be best to call in backup when their own pleas fell on deaf ears. He intercepted her at the forest's edge before one of her searches and had a long talk with his daughter. In the end she listened to her father's advice that the best thing to do right now was go back to Beacon.

Even after returning to Beacon Yang was still distant. To Weiss it looked like Yang was going through her life in an almost zombie like state, showing no interest in school or her friends, even opting out of practice duels in Goodwitch's class. After getting word of Yang's mental state Ozpin requested that she start regular meetings with one of Beacon's councilors. Initially refusing, Yang eventually caved in when Blake and Weiss began talking turns escorting her to the meetings. And by escort Weiss really meant forcefully drag. '_That pig headed girl still thinks she's okay.'_ That strong will was something Weiss admired about Yang.

RWBY and JNPR's group meals became a thing of the past. While JNPR would still eat together they would rarely be accompanied by even a single remaining member of RWBY. Apart from the organized missions to take Yang to the councilor, RWBY hardly spent any time together as a team, something that Weiss had come to greatly regret.

Even now Weiss roamed Beacon's halls because her team was nowhere to be found. These days Yang spent most of her free time sitting on her bed caressing Ruby's hood and staring at her empty bed. Most of her nights were consisted of Yang visiting as many Vale night clubs as possible, sometimes not returning until the following morning. Blake on the other hand would hardly be seen anymore, "off doing whatever that faunus does when she's not here." As Weiss put it. She figured Blake must be spending more time with Sun. Ever since their argument when Weiss learned of Blake's heritage, Sun has it seems had become the girl's refuge from her problems.

The heiress soon returned to her dark empty dorm room. Even at this late hour her teammates had yet to return. Not that Weiss could blame them. This room served as a constant reminder of their fallen leader, their friend. Ruby's bed and desk were exactly as the girl had left them that day; Yang refused to let anyone touch Ruby's belongings. Part of her did not want to admit that her baby sister was gone. But Weiss knew better. She saw what she did to Ruby. She felt her rapier's blade pierce the young girl's flesh. She knew Ruby was gone.

Weiss looked at her own desk; on it sat Myrtenaster. She had not touched the Weapon since after she returned from the hospital and Blake found her on the floor of their room scrubbing the weapon, sobbing. By the time Blake discovered the scene, the floor around Weiss was covered in used cloths and the room reeked of cleaning solvent. The distraught girl had used up nearly an entire bottle of the stuff trying to remove her friend's long gone blood. Weiss looked at her weapon, sitting on the wooden desk. Even now she was unable to bring herself to touch it, lest she relive the memories of that day.

Weiss went over to her dresser and retrieved her night clothes. She then removed her school uniform. Neatly folding and putting it away. After changing into her pajamas she turned off her light, strolled to her awaiting bed and slipped beneath its soothing covers. She knew that she would be alone in this dark room tonight.

* * *

In the following days Ruby found her strength returning. Soon she was able to walk on her own through the mansion that had become her temporary home. Kaana's house was situated near the outer edge of forest and consisted of more rooms then Ruby could count. Currently Ruby found herself in the mansion's gym, as she found that it suited her recovery perfectly. She was wearing what had become her standard gym attire while she was here, a grey tank top, red shorts, and white shoes. The gym contained everything an aspiring huntress could ask for in a training facility. Strength training equipment, treadmills, even practice drones.

Ruby eyed her target, a heavy brown punching bag suspended from the ceiling. She swung her right fist releasing a primeval cry as she struck the bag. Over and over again she struck the bag each time remembering the people that caused her to here. Her memories of Blake and Weiss triggered surges of anger through her body. Each time Ruby could feel her strength swell inside of her; and she relished in it. '_Now I understand why Yang enjoys this so much. I can feel power coursing through my veins, and its amazing!'_ Ruby did not even catch she had started giggling at her realization.

"You seem to be looking well miss Rose." Ruby spun around to see Kaana staring at her from the gym's entrance. "How are you doing today little one?"

Ruby bounded over to her host. "I'm feeling fantastic to day! Never better!"

"Well if you're feeling up to it, I have something to show you." As she spoke, Kaana held the door open and gestured for Ruby to pass through it.

Kaana lead Ruby deep into the basement of the mansion and to an ornate metal door. On the wall to the right of the door was a square scanner. When Kaana held her scroll up to the scanner Ruby could see a green light appear above the door and what sounded to her like locking mechanisms disengaging. Kaana opened the large door to reveal to Ruby a large room with racks filled with of all kinds of weapons and with more adorning the walls. Ruby let out an involuntary squeal of excitement as she ran to the closest weapon rack. "You have interlocking swords! And double ax shotguns! Sawblade shields! This place is amazing! You have a spear trident too." Ruby franticly shot around the room at lighting speed eager to see all the wonderful weapons this place contained.

"I didn't know you were a fan of weapons miss Kaana."

"Please Ruby just call me Kaana. You're my guest, no need to be so formal."

"Okay, Kaana." Ruby replied as she began skipping through the rows of armaments.

"To answer your previous statement, while I do enjoy the fine craftsmanship that goes into weapons such as these, collecting them is not, what you would say, a hobby. This is my home's armory. In by line of work one can never be too careful."

"What kind of business are you in? If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all Ruby. I deal in the import, export and distribution of hard to acquire merchandise."

"Oh, I see." Replied Ruby, not quite sure if that answered her question.

"Anyway Ruby, I didn't bring you down here just to look at my armory, but you are free to do so anytime you would like, I wanted to show you something." Kaana spoke as she made her way to the back of the room.

At the back of the room lay several tables and work stations. From where she was, Ruby could see most of the equipment one such as herself would want to modify and maintain most types of weapons. One of the tables in particular held a case on top of it. Kaana gestured toward the metal case and said with a smile across her face."In there. Go ahead, open it."

With that Ruby approached the case and undid its latches. Looking inside Ruby's eyes lit up and massive smile spread across her face. An ecstatic Ruby retrieved the red contraption from the case. When she activated it, the device extended into her signature weapon, Crescent Rose. Rose twirled the seven foot long scythe around herself with nearly impossible ease. "I thought I lost you old friend."

"We recovered that when we rescued you. I kept it down here because I didn't want you hurting yourself while you were still healing." Kaana said as she smiled, leaning against a weapon rack. To Ruby it looked like a parent watching their child opening a birthday present.

"Thank you for keeping good care of her." said the overjoyed Ruby as she captured the emerald eyed woman in a powerful embrace that would make Yang proud.

"Now that you're feeling better and have your weapon back." Ruby found herself entranced by Kaana's emerald eyes as she spoke. "I have a little job for you if you're interested."

The scythe wielder looked down at her prized weapon and a devilish smirk grew across her face. "Of course, what do you need?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I don't have much to say about this chapter except that I hope you enjoy it.**

**I'm really interested in knowing what you guys think of this one, I love to read your reviews.  
**


	5. Nightmares and Daydreams

Darkness, it was all around her. Her team, her friends were just out of reach, leaving her behind. Ruby knew her team could hear her, yet they never turned. Faster and faster she ran, never catching them. No matter how fast the scythe wielder raced she could not reach her friends.

"Come back! Please, don't leave me!" Ruby shouted into the darkness. Silence was her only reply. Collapsing into the ground Ruby desperately called to them, "Please, don't do this. I don't want to be alone."

Ruby awoke drenched in sweat and her heart pounding. As the panic that had filled her body slowly lifted, Ruby looked over the place that had become her room. This was the very same room where she originally awoke. The same day she met the woman who had become her closest friend, Kaana. With her heart still racing Ruby knew that returning to sleep would be impossible. She decided that the best thing she could do right now would be to clear her head and release her new found energy. Ruby changed into her new grey one piece swimsuit, retrieved a towel from her closet and made her way to the house's pool.

On the far side of the house lay the pool room. The pool was a large rectangular lap pool with a ten foot high diving board at one end. Surrounding the pool was a glass wall and above was a cathedral ceiling with six large skylights. After depositing her towel on one of the many chairs, Ruby ascended the diving board. She charged off the end, cannonballing into the water. The young girl floated in the clear water staring up at the daybreak sky letting all the tension from that night's disturbance wash away. Ruby loved swimming. To her it was impossible for anyone to be sad in the water. She thought back to all those times she and Yang would visit their local pool growing up. They would spend their weekends using the waterslides or picking splash fights with the other children, although it would mostly be Yang instigating.

'_Life was better then. No fighting. No murder. No betrayal and now abandonment. Just Yang and I. She was always there to protect me.'_

* * *

"There you are Ruby. Come on, Kaana's waiting for you upstairs." Ruby glanced up from her watery embrace. She had been spending the last hours leisurely doing laps in the pool. Standing at the edge of the pool was Kaana's smiling faunus assistant.

"Sorry Shara, I must have lost track of time. I'll be up in a minute."

"No worries Ruby. I'll meet you upstairs with some hot chocolate and cookies."

After the tiger faunus left Ruby exited the pool, dried herself off and returned to her room to change.

Soon afterwards Ruby found herself entering a room on the second floor of Kaana's home. Inside sat Kaana, Shara, and a young man wearing a white suit who Ruby did not recognise. Kaana set down the tea she was drinking and waved the young girl over.

"Come in Ruby. How are you doing today Little One? Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning Kaana. I slept alright. Sorry about being late though. I lost track of time."

"Forget about it. Mister Mano and I were just catching up. Now how about we get started?"

Kaana had offered Ruby a position with her company. A type of "personal security consultant" as she put it. But before she could start Ruby needed a new combat outfit as her's was wreaked. As her new friend said to her with a smirk, "You can't be champion without looking cool."

So that is why Ruby found herself here trying on the various clothes that Mano had brought in. She spent the morning mixing and matching outfits, even managing to get Shara to model a few of them. Ruby had to admit that it was the most fun she had in a long time.

By lunch time Ruby had selected her new combat attire. It consisted of black red laced combat boots; black skin tight jeans with a red stripe running down the outside of each leg and with dark grey plates on the thigh, knee and calf. She wore a long sleeve pullover shirt that was black at the top gradually becoming red at the bottom. On her shoulders and forearms were matching plates to her legs. Around her waist was a grey belt containing two ammo pouches and she wore a bandoleer with extra ammo starting at her left shoulder and running across her chest. Strapped to her leg just above her right boot sat a sheathed knife.

After thanking Mano and Kaana with hugs, Ruby began examining her new look in the full length mirror on the wall. Kaana noticed a pondering look on Ruby's face.

"Is there something wrong little one? Would you like to try something else?"

"No, no I love it. Its.. Well it just feels like something is missing."

"Like what Ruby. Whatever you want I can get it for you."

Ruby had a realization as to what she was missing. She turned to Kaana and said, "how 'bout a hooded cape? Like what I used to wear."

Kaana looked over to Mano who gave a reassuring nod.

Kaana replied, "What color would you like it to be Little One?"

Ruby looked at herself again in the mirror then looked over her shoulder at her companions and smiled. "Do they come in black?"

* * *

Returning to her dorm the Schnee heiress was pondering how things had been changing of late. For Weiss life at beacon was beginning to return to a form of normal. Not long ago team JNPR staged what Nora called an intervention. This consisted of the members of JNPR dragging, quite literally in her and Nora's case, to a group lunch in the Beacon dining hall. No mention of Ruby was made, it was as if everything was back to normal for the first time during that lunch. I the following days JNPR began working on getting the remaining members of RWBY out of their collective depression. Mandatory weekend shopping trips, group meals, and Nora's early morning wake up calls all became part of RWBY's new routine. Weiss had to admit it was working. She found herself socializing again, not just with JNPR but with Yang and Blake as well. Blake was being social again, or as Weiss thought '_at least she's reading her books in public now.'_ Yang was no longer spending hours staring at her sister's bed and was slowly returning to her energetic self. Although the heiress was concerned about Yang's need to wear Ruby's hood wherever she went, believing it to be unhealthy. It was a concern that Yang however seemed to ignore, as more of the original Yang began to peek through her depression. Weiss remembered how the previous day at lunch the blonde made her first pun since the incident. Causing to Nora leap across the table to hug the girl while screaming that "Yang's back!" Weiss could not help but smile thinking about it. Her smile only grew when she returned to her dorm to find her two friends already there.

As Weiss entered the room she could see Blake was reading one of her books while Yang tried to study. A goal made only more difficult by the blonde's need to play with her scroll. Walking over to her desk, Weiss deposited her books on its surface. Her weapon still sat neatly on the desk. The girl still could not bring herself to touch the rapier. The thought of grasping its handle caused her heart to start pounding and her stomach feel uneasy. So Weiss left the weapon where it lay. She promised herself that she would clear off her desk another day.

Behind her Weiss heard a pounding on her door. Seeing that none of her teammate's had volunteered to answer it Weiss grumbly walked over to deal with it. "What do you want?" She said with a touch of annoyance in her tone before she even finished opening the door. Before her stood a nervus blond haired boy holding a bottle of syrup.

"Jaune, what do you need?"

"Oh, um hey Weiss. Could I hide this in your room?" He gestured with the bottle. "You know who is in one of her moods and this is my last bottle."

The white haired girl rolled her eyes and beckoned the boy into the room. She understood that when Nora wanted pancakes it was best to hide one's syrup.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Sorry for the delay. I had a hard time figuring out how to continue after that. Its one thing to know how a story is going to play out. Its another to know how to get there.  
**

**Of course after figuring it out I ran into the issue of how to split it up. So expect a couple of rapid fire updates as I ended up writing more then one chapter's worth so now I'm just working on that.  
**


	6. The Huntress and the Assassin

"Prepare to be boarded you white haired fiend!" The blond brawler exclaimed as she stood triumphantly pointing at her opponent. RWBY and JNPR were seated in the library around a board game featuring naval warfare. Weiss, still trying to understand what was going on, was losing badly. Blake could not help but smirk at the ice queen's misfortune as most of Weiss's forces had already been wiped out by the overly aggressive Yang. The faunus was also surprised by how well Jaune was going as he already captured a significant portion of the board. She figured he must be a better tactician than he let on.

Blake however, did not find the game very engaging; she was only playing because Pyrrha forced her too. Whenever Blake tried to make an excuse to leave, the red haired girl would not let her. Pyrrha had a way of seeing through everyone's excuses.

Blake looked back toward a distraught Weiss who was laying her head on the table.

"Why must you twist my emotions like this?"

'Well.' Blake thought. 'maybe this game isn't so bad after all.'

* * *

They were coming to hurt her. She had to run, but she could not get away. Surrounded by darkness, they were hunting her. "Please don't do this!" Ruby cried. "I thought you were my friends." Suddenly Blake and Weiss were upon her. "Don't hurt me anymore, please." The sinister faces looking down on her gave no reply, only the raising of their weapons ready to finish what they started.

Ruby awoke from her nightmare once again drenched in sweat with her heart pounding in her chest. She sat up in her bed and dropped her face into her hands. 'They're getting worse.' She thought to herself looking over at the moonlit sky. Her nightmares were becoming more and more frequent, as well as increasing in intensity. Getting out of bed the young girl exited her room and began to wander the hallways of her new home. Ruby tried to let her mind drift to new thoughts but she kept coming back to her nightmares. Always about either being abandoned, or the people who were once her friends coming back to finish the job.

Behind her Ruby heard the creaking of a door. The pajama clad girl turned around to see Kaana standing in the hallway wearing her nightgown and a warm smile.

"Hey Little One. Can't sleep?"

"Ya, I had a nightmare. I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Oh not at all Ruby. Your nightmare, would you like to talk about it?"

"That's okay. I don't want to keep you up."

"Nonsense." Kaana replied, waving her hand for effect. "Come on, I know the best cure for bad dreams." She said walking over to Ruby and guiding her down to the kitchen.

Upon reaching the kitchen Kaana sat Ruby down at the peninsula while she grabbed two classes and a plate. After setting a glass and plate in front of Ruby Kaana retrieved a jug of milk from the fridge and grabbed a jar of cookies. Kaana filled both glasses with milk and dumped a mound of cookies on the plate.

"See, I told you I had the best cure for a bad dream." She sat down across from Ruby and dipped a cookie in her own glass. "So do you wanna talk about what's been bothering you?"

Ruby ate a couple cookies before she responded. "Well I've been having nightmares, most nights in fact, and...well they all involve, them."

"I see. If you don't mind me asking, what are they doing in your dreams?"

Ruby took a deep breath before responding. "At first they were abandoning me, like before. Lately however my friends are trying to hurt me. Everywhere I turn there they are. No matter how fast I run they always catch me."

Kaana gave Ruby a reassuring smile and rested her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Its alright Ruby. Those people who called themselves your friends can't hurt you anymore. You're safe here."

"I guess I know that I'm safe here. But what about outside? Blake and Weiss are still out there somewhere and part of me is scared they will come back for me." As she spoke Ruby became visibly more agitated.

"Calm down Little One its all right. You're with people who care about you. Don't worry." She said as she walked around the peninsula to give Ruby a hug. "I know you're frightened. Its okay to be scared but don't let it control you."

Ruby looked up at the motherly smile Kaana gave her. She found Kaana's touch soothing. The young girl felt safe in Kaana's arms.

"You see Ruby as long as what scares you is still free, it is free to hurt you. Sometimes to remove fear one must remove the source of that fear. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Ruby nodded.

Kaana continued, "So long as Blake and Weiss are around they are free to torment you." She tightened her loving embrace around the troubled girl. "Now I'm sure if you run into those two again you will know what to do. But for now lets get back to bed, you have a big day tomorrow." Before releasing the hug, Kaana planted a soft kiss on Ruby's forehead.

* * *

Ruby was riding in the back of one of Kaana's many cars through the streets of Vale as she tried to prepare herself for newest mission. Over the past few days the scythe wielder had been working various jobs for her new friend. The jobs started simple enough. Stand in the back of a meeting and look tough. The normally energetic Ruby found that one excruciatingly boring. It was before that first one that Ruby learned the full extent of Kaana's business. 'Import export she put it. More like organized crime and smuggling.' At first the young girl was unsure as to what she should do after learning the details of her friend's job. But Ruby trusted her friend and she did not want to do anything to hurt her only friend. Not to mention that Ruby felt as though she needed Kaana's help to deal with her old friends.

Soon after that job Ruby worked a couple of missions to guard some cargo that Kaana had coming into the docks. Ruby's job was simply to prevent any kind trouble. The first time when well. She got to the docks and escorted the shipment to the warehouse. The second time however, did not go so smoothly. Ruby and her group were stumbled upon by a pair of cops. Unsure as to what to do, she used the blunt end of her scythe to punt them into the harbor. She had to admit she found it pretty funny.

Today was different however. This was beyond anything Ruby would have thought her would be asked to do. She looked down at her scroll once again, studying the face of her target. Gregory Melon, CEO of a firearms manufacturing company and former associate of Kaana's. If what Ruby read was true, he was not a nice man. Faunus abuse and arms trafficking, mainly to Kaana, were just a couple of things on her list. She told Ruby that he needed to be taken out because he walked out of an important deal. However it needed to look like an assassination. Ever since the White Fang began working with an outside party they have not been as aggressive in their operations and in response several companies were considering reducing security purchases. This was something Kaana could not stand for.

Ruby took a deep breath. She was not sure she could do this. But she needed Kaana. Ruby did not want to think about what would happen if she refused to do this. What if Kaana asked her to leave? What if she did not want her around anymore? Ruby could not risk that. She could not lose her only friends. She could not be alone.

When the car finally pulled to a stop in a side of the road parking space, Ruby stepped out of the vehicle. Kaana promptly followed. Ruby turned to face her as Kaana placed her hand on the young girl's shoulder. The woman gave Ruby a warm smile. "You'll do fine Ruby, don't worry."

"Um..okay." Ruby replied nervously.

"Now did you bring extra ammo? Did you clean Crescent Rose? You have the address right?" Kaana's questions reminded Ruby of a mother sending her kid to off to their first day of school.

"Yes Kaana. I've got everything I need."

"I was just making sure." Kaana pulled the young scythe wielder into an embrace. "Good luck and have some fun while you're at it. I'll meet you at the pickup point. Remember to call me if you run into any issues."

With that she sent Ruby off with a smile and a wave. Ruby walked through the back alleys of Vale as she worked her way to her target. Ruby had been dropped off several blocks away from where her target was supposed to be having lunch to avoid suspicion. She used this time to mentally prepare herself for the task at hand.

Then Ruby saw her. She was walking down the streets of Vale, clad in black and wearing a bow. The sight of her would be murderer made Ruby's blood boil. Pure hatred coursed through the scythe wielder's veins. She knew with Blake alone, this was her chance. From the dark alleys Ruby stalked her prey. Using her semblance Ruby sprinted up the faces of the buildings, leaping across to the next one before jumping to its roof. From rooftop to rooftop she sprinted getting ahead of her target, scouting for anything to use for her trap.

She saw it. Skitting to a halt, the short haired huntress knew what would she could use to lure her prey.

* * *

In the alleyway next to the restaurant where she worked, a young waitress carrying the latest bag of trash approached the dumpster. Suddenly she heard someone drop behind her. Before the waitress could react she felt a knife pressed to her throat and an arm across her waist. A sinister voice spoke to her. "Now, scream for help."

* * *

Blake was once again wandering Vale alone. With Weiss invited to lunch and Yang effectively kidnapped by Pyrrha, Blake was free to visit her favorite bookstore. She was not able to visit it of late, not since JNPR started working with her team. For the faunus it was too long since she had been able to peruse the shelves of a bookstore taking in the smells of the books. With everything happening lately, this was an excursion Blake sorely needed.

Without warning the raven haired girl heard what sounded to her like a cry for help coming from a nearby alley. Springing to action the huntress in training raced around the corner drawing her weapon. Toward the back of the alley Blake came upon a girl in a waitress uniform, laying near a dumpster crying. Not seeing anyone else, Blake knelt down next to the distraught girl. "Are you okay? Can you tell me what hap..."

Before the would be rescuer could finish her inquires she was blindsided by fist slamming her head into the masonry wall. A flurry of fists struck her body over and over. A dazed Blake tried in vain to raise her weapon upon her attacker, only for the hooded figure to easily swat Blake's weapon away. Hit upon it fell on the girl in a furious beating as the world around her started to blacken and the pain began to consume her. Before she lost consciousness there was only pain.

* * *

'Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate!' With a fury she never before experienced, the scythe wielder landed blow after blow on the object of her rage.

'Hate! Hate! Hate. Hate... Hate…. hate.' Ruby slowed her assault. Looking over her handiwork, conflicting thoughts began to creep into her mind. She expected to feel relief or pleasure at this moment. Except now she felt, disappointed. The bruised and bloody body of the girl who was once her friend slumped to the cold ground. 'This was supposed to feel, better than this. What is wrong?' Ruby thought she would enjoy this more. While she felt pleasure while hurting this girl, the scythe wielder did not feel the satisfaction she hoped for. Just as feelings of guilt started to creep into her mind Ruby heard the waitress from earlier crying out for help. In the heat of rage Ruby had failed to hear the girl's pleas.

Returning to her senses, Ruby knew it was time she left. Law enforcement would be there soon and she had a mission to attend too.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**In case you guys were wondering, to keep with tradition the OCs I'm making to flesh out the story will allude to other characters. In the case of Kaana and Shara they allude to Jungle Book characters.**

**Telling this story is rather interesting because early on I made a rule that it can only be told from the perspectives of team RWBY. So that makes telling part of the story more difficult since I had a couple of moments planned were certain villains would discuss things. However since no member of RWBY would logically be there I had to cut that those as well as a teacher's meeting at Beacon to discuss what to do after the death of RWBY's leader.**

**As always thank you for reading.  
**

**Update: I was rereading this and realized when I was copy/pasting this I somehow missed a word and a period. Suddenly two sentences became one strange one. Sorry.**


	7. Heroes and Villans

An assassin entered the small apartment, its window overlooking her prey, this perch would suit her perfectly. Her weapon extended she peered through its red scope, the angle too steep from her vantage point to the ground where her target sat, she needed to he higher. The girl in the black hood scanned her surroundings, her gaze settled on a wooden dining room table, she knew this would work perfectly.

* * *

Weiss missed this level of class. After spending so long surrounded by her childish teammates, the Schnee heiress almost forgot what it was like to be around people who knew how to carry on a civilized meal. She thought back to her classmates, boisterous conversations, lack of basic table manners, and the occasional thrown produce; behaviors she did not expect from future huntsmen and huntresses.

Looking around at her lunch partners, three older men who only sent her the invitation for their own purposes, Weiss remembered how this was one thing she did not at all miss about her home life. Growing up she always felt looked down upon when she attended her father's elegant meals. Older men and women sitting around a table drinking their wine and discussing trade deals and mergers, with Weiss serving only as an accessory to her father. But for Weiss being of standing and importance more than made up for any discomfort on her part.

As an heiress, Weiss could not turn down a lunch invitation from the CEO of a Shnee subsidiary, even if she was only invited to earn points with her father. Still, normally she enjoyed this sort of company. The air of sophistication, and being in the company of people where her family name carried weight, a thing that did not happen nearly enough at Beacon for her tastes. Yet, Weiss felt this meal was missing something. Even though it was crowded, this Vale restaurant was empty to her, too quiet. Every person at her table performing an act, pretending that the events in the other people's lives meant anything to them.

Fake, that is what this was. Every one of her father's dinner parties had been like this. Why had she not seen this before she wondered. '_I've spent too much time at Beacon. Thanks to Yang, Blake, and Nora I can't even enjoy the simple company of mature adults anymore.' _

As the other three people at her table recounted tales of recent business trips Weiss felt a vibration in her pocket. Her scroll received a message. In her bored state Weiss as more than happy to check her scroll for messages.

'_Huh, Blake. This better be important.' _She thought as she opened the message.

Weiss's heart stopped, her stomach felt as though it fell through the floor as the realization of what she was reading hit her.

_'Blake, attacked, being taken to the hospital, that girl would never allow it unless it was extraordinarily bad._

The concerned teammate tried in vain to subdue her panic while processing Blake's message.

_'Her assailant wore a black cloak. Come on girl you need to give us more details than this. How hurt are you? Why did this happen? Are you okay? _

Rising from her seat the heiress spoke to her host in the most proper tone she could currently manage. "Excuse me Mr. Melon but I will unfortunately have to call this short. One of my teammates has just been admitted to the hospital, so I must bid you adieu."

"Well of course Miss Schnee. Allow me to give you a ride." Melon said while rising from his own seat. He looked over to his other two guests while he signaled for his waiting assistant to retrieve the car. "Oscor, Jean, its been a pleasure. Give Ann my best."

Melon's calm demeanor and lack of concern in his voice only served to irk Weiss further.

Weiss and her companion then waited in the restaurant's lobby until their car arrived.

* * *

The hooded figure lay in wait, crouched on a large table, scoping out from her high window for her target. Normally she would be apprehensive about what she was about to do. Up until recently her whole existence was about helping others. Romantic ideas of heroes saving the helpless used to fill her dreams. But not today, for today was a new day. There were no heroes or villains, her teammates taught her that, and her new friend helped show her the truth.

With anger still coursing through her veins from the encounter with her betrayer, she held in her mind a single purpose, to execute, to remove, to destroy.

Spying the restaurant door her heart rate jumped. Her target was leaving early, nearly by half an hour, this was not the plan. Then the assassin saw her, she accompanied him, white hair in a tail, off to one side, white dress, and a concerned look on her face. Rage bubbling over for the second time today, the girl in black took aim. There would be two bodies today.

* * *

Melon and Weiss stepped out of the restaurant and approached the awaiting automobile, his assistant already holding a car door open.

"Thank you good sir." Melon said to his assistant. Turning back toward Weiss he began to speak. "Oh yes Miss Schnee one more…" His sentence cut off by the cracking sound of a gunshot.

Time slowed to a crawl for the white haired huntress. The man began to stumble backward, blood sprayed the sidewalk.

Springing into action Weiss summoned a shining white glyph between the man and where shot came from with her right hand, while reaching for her rapier with her left. Her hand grasped only air, she silently cursed herself for being without it. '_What kind of huntress can't even bring herself to hold her own weapon. You're pathetic.'_ she thought.

Another shot rang out, striking Weiss's glyph where the man's chest would have been as he fell. Weiss scanned the opposing building looking for where the shots came from. Two more shots impacted her glyph, this time where her own chest would be. '_Huh, shooting at me now are you. Why? You obviously can't penetrate my glyph.'_

Crouching next to the car, Weiss pulled the Melon into its cover. '_He's alive, grazing shot to his upper chest.'_ She yelled for Melon's frightened assistant to apply pressure to the wound, as the contemplated her next move.

Weiss knew even without her prized weapon she was a more than capable fighter, more than able to subdue a single opponent bare handed. She hoped.

'_Think, what do you need to do? Ruby would have known what to do. She was always the best at plans.'_

Taking a quick glance over the car Weiss knew what she needed to do.

'_Ok girl, this isn't the stupidest plan you've ever had. Close, definitely a contender though.'_

Leaping from her hiding place, the huntress landed on the car's roof. Placing a glyph in front of her she jumped to that one, using it to launch her further forward and into the air. From glyph she surged toward her target.

Weiss entered the window where the shots came from in a roll landing early hitting a table positioned several feet from the window. She looked up to see a black streak shoot out of the room. Weiss launched into pursuit.

When she reached the hallway she heard a door crash open. At the end of the hallway, opposite the side she came in, Weiss could see a freshly caved in door. Sprinting through the door Weiss came to another room like she first came into. Through the open window she saw a black hooded figure racing across the rooftops on the other side of the street. By the time Weiss used her glyphs to reach the rooftops however, the figure had vanished.

Returning to her fallen host Weiss passed through where the shooter was firing from. She quickly used her scroll to snap photos of the room. There wasn't much to see except the floor was littered with bullet casings. Weiss retrieved one and slipped it into her pouch.

* * *

"I'm so sorry Kaana! I should have done better, I'm sorry." Ruby said has she hugged her brown haired friend, burying her head in Kaana's chest..

"Shhh Little One. Its alright, you have no need to be sorry, you did just fine." Kaana replied as she gently brushed Ruby's hair out of the girl's eyes. "It was your first time and you did your best. Its my fault. I should have told you that your old teammate would be there. I wanted to see how you would react to her being there. But hey, even though he's expected to live it all worked out in the end didn't it?"

Ruby looked up from her hug with a confused look on her face.

Kaana smiled down at her young protege. "The authorities believe it was the White Fang and Mr. Melon got the message. I expect him to be more cooperative in the future. Now to celebrate I got you your favorite in the kitchen, strawberries."

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Thank you Kaana!" She said excitedly.

Bounding toward the kitchen Ruby was glad she had an understanding kind friend like her.

* * *

**Author's Notes:****I'm really enjoying writing this story. It started as a thought experiment as to how would team RWBY react to Ruby's accidental death, but has grown into something more.  
**

**As always, thank you for reading and feel free to post a review.**


	8. Partners in Crime

Familiar, in a disheartening way, that is what this place was to the heiress. A depressing reminder of dark memories she wish remained buried.

Weiss stood in the doorway of Blake's hospital room. A stale place with white walls and lifeless decor. Even for a normal person this room would conjure feelings of depression. But for the remaining members of team RWBY, hospital rooms triggered something more, something worse.

Blake lay in her bed by the window, a blond haired girl sat in the seat next to her, curled up with her feet on the chair and her face buried in crossed arms that rest on her knees. The Faunus was expected to make a full recovery, her aura quickly repaired the bruises, though her broken bones may take longer. One of the few pieces of news today that could comfort Weiss.

Yang on the other hand was a different story. Weiss feared that after the death of her sister, being faced with the prospect of losing a close friend may have been to much for Yang.

Yang did not handle the news of her partner's savage attack well. Hospital security eventually gave up in their attempts to remove the hysterical teenager from Blake's room, ultimately settling on allowing her to stay by Blake's side.

Weiss approached the bed with the cups of cafeteria jello she was tasked with retrieving. She set one down on the tray next to Blake who was still reading the same book she been reading when the heiress left for food. Afterward Weiss brought the second cup over to the red hood wearing Yang. Kneeling down to her level, Weiss put her right hand on Yang's shoulder and spoke softly to the girl.

"How are you feeling Yang?"

Receiving no response, Weiss continued.

"I brought you some jello. Would you like it?"

Yang shifted her head, raising her eyes to meet Weiss. The heiress had hoped the prospect of food would be enough to get through to Yang.

"Hey there." Weiss said, smiling.

Yang reached her hand out for her jello. Weiss placed it and a spoon in her hand. Having completed her mission Weiss looked back toward her injured teammate. Blake had yet to touch her jello, still reading the book she held in her right hand. Weiss figured the broken ribs made using her left arm to painful. Not that Blake would ever admit it. The faunus's refusal to admit any sort of weakness, even to herself, never ceased to bother Weiss.

This backward scenario was too much for her. The partner who was beaten and left in the streets is putting on a strong face; while the girl who was always the group's rock, sat in a huddled mess.

"That's it!" Weiss shouted, leaping to her feet. "I've had enough of this."

She pointed to her injured teammate, "Blake Belladonna! You need to cut this 'I'm fine' act. Being assaulted in an alley is a perfectly valid excuse to admit you're in pain."

Snapping her outstretched finger to the blond in the red hood, she exclaimed, "And you, miss Yang Xiao Long! Snap out of it! You're a huntress, act like it! Your partner is in a hospital bed and she's the one putting on a brave face for your benefit." She put extra emphasis on the your. "Blake needs your support, not the other way around."

The two partners eye's snapped to the heiress, her outburst shaking them back to reality. Weiss's sudden explosions of energy never failed capture her teammates' attention.

Now that she had the duo's undivided attention, Weiss continued in a somewhat lower volume.

"Now, we are going to find out who did this to Blake and we are going to do this as a team."

For several seconds Blake and Yang stared back at Weiss with a mix of awe and confusion. Finally a smirk grew across Yang's face. Rising to her feet she slammed her right fist into her left hand and spoke with the ferocity one came to expect from miss Xiao Long.

"No one hurts a member of team RWBY and gets away with it. Am I right? She finished turning to her partner who rolled her eyes in response.

"Well I guess I can't stop you two." Said Blake.

"Ha ha, that's the spirit. So ice princess, where do we begin?"

Straightening her back and raising her chin, Weiss began to speak in her trademark tone of superiority. "Well first I believe we need to investigate the attempted assassination this morning. In my pursuit of the culprit I determined that they matched the description of Blake's attacker. Obviously such a coincidence is far fetched."

When Weiss finished she crossed her arms and bobbed slightly on the balls of her feet, proud of her own perceived brilliance. One of her habits she was never fully aware of.

"Haven't the police already been through that crime scene? What could we possibly deduce that they haven't already?" Blake stated in her traditional disinterested yet disapproving tone.

"I guess we won't know until we find out." Replied the blonde.

"Besides," Weiss continued, "they don't have everything. I got this after chase with the suspect." She began to reach into the pouch on her back.

"The suspect you lost by the way." Yang retorted with a smile. She looked to her partner in hopes of a response to her attempt at humor. Receiving none she returned her gaze to Weiss who held in her hand a spent rifle casing.

"Did you steal that from a crime scene?!" Exclaimed Blake in disbelief.

"We are such a bad influence on you." Came from the amused Yang. She made no attempt to hide how proud she was for corrupting the seemingly uptight Weiss.

* * *

The dim light of the moonlit sky streamed into the abandoned apartment. Long since the police retired to their homes, this place sat silent. Outside the closed window a circle of white light formed, emblazoned with a snowflake it hung perpendicular to the building's facade. Gracefully a white clad Weiss Schnee landed on the shimmering glyph. Its energy acting as a landing. Silently she slid the window open and stepped into the dark room. She drew her light and held it aloft in her left hand. The unarmed girl felt no need to keep her weapon hand free.

Behind her came Yang Xiao Long somersaulting into the room. Jumping to her feet she activated both of her gauntlets, pointing them into the room, ready to attack anyone who may have spotted them.

"Yang, there's no need for that. We're alone."

The disappointed Yang lowered her weapons and retrieved her own light.

"So I take it this is where she shot from?" Yang stated as she ran her finger along the table's wooden surface. "Its a little far from the window for my tastes."

Weiss paused taking pictures of the room with her scroll to turn back to the blonde and reply.

"Your tastes would be to go down there and beat him up personally."

"True. This whole distance fighting thing was never really my element."

Yang hopped onto the table and crouched on its surface facing the window. After shining the light upon its surface she turned back to her partner in crime who was growing increasingly agitated as she surveyed the room.

"So she crouched here like this when she shot him." Yang said holding an imaginary rifle as she crouched at the middle of the conference style table. "You can see a boot print and a scuff mark right here."

Weiss grumbled to herself before turning back to Yang.

"This is making less and less sense."

Yang ignored her comment as she moved to the end of the table closest to the window. Shining her light on the floor in front of the table she spied something that made her hop of the table and investigate.

"Down here!" She called running her index and forefinger through the gash in the floor she found. "Looks like something was impaled in the floor right here."

Weiss backed up to observe the whole scene.

"Possibly the shooter's weapon?" Weiss questioned.

"It would explain why she was back so far. But man that would be a long weapon." Yang said rising to her feet.

'_It would be like Crescent Rose.'_ Weiss thought imagining her departed friend crouching on the table with her sweetheart. '_Damnit Weiss, you need to focus. This is not the time to be thinking about Ruby.'_

Weiss turned back to her picture taking while walking toward the room's entrance.

Yang could see her agitated teammate muttering to herself as she examined the floor by the entrance.

"What's the problem princess?"

The frustrated Schnee turned to Yang and began explaining.

"This makes no sense. The White Fang would never send someone so amateurish to accomplish a job so important."

Yang raised her eyebrow quizzically.

"Look over here Yang." She pointed to the spot of tile adjacent to the large table. "When I came through here this afternoon this floor was littered with used shell casings. What kind of assassin doesn't police their brass? And what about where she was aiming? Center of mass? Really? Sure its easier to hit but its not a guaranteed kill."

She could feel the blonde questioning her logic.

"Look at it like this Yang. Military snipers and assassins are trained to aim for the area on the head between the eyes and neck. A round through that would kill a person who didn't have their aura up instantly. Police as well as huntsmen and huntresses are trained to aim for the chest. easy to hit in a firefight, and its possible to disable rather than kill with such a shot."

"And our shooter aimed for Melon's chest? Yang replied.

"Exactly. More than that, she missed." Weiss took a moment's pause before continuing. "The sniper was sitting up here for who knows how long. Probably for at least the length of our lunch. That's plenty of time to work out all the trajectory calculations for a shot across the street. Its not that far, one wouldn't need to make many corrections for such a shot. Yet the first shot was to the chest. A non fatal one at that. And here's another thing. Two shots I can understand. Miss the first one, follow up with a second to make sure the job is done. Any well trained assassin would leave after that. Staying around only increases the chances of being caught."

"You sure know a lot about assassins there Weiss."

Weiss shot Yang a disapproving look. "With the White Fang's activities I became well versed in these methods. Anyway as I was saying. Two shots is one thing but four. Two of those shots were at my chest. Through an already in place glyph. From the first shot it should have been obvious even to you that those bullets weren't getting through."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Weiss ignored Yang's comment. "Also, the police may be sure this is the White Fang's doing but I'm not so sure. Why haven't they come forward to claim responsibility? Its been over twelve hours and not a peep. This isn't like them. Not to mention that they would never send an amature for a job so important. Ask Blake I'm sure she can confirm that."

"Well then detective Schnee, if not the White Fang then who?"

"How am I supposed to know that? If you're so smart why don't you tell me?" Weiss retorted.

"What about a police shooter? You said they were trained to shot like this."

"I don't think so. Based on the style of the weapon involved I think that is highly unlikely. I believe this could be the work of a huntress." Weiss said back in her tone of superiority. "Based on the fact that the shooter in question missed I would say she is huntress in training or a dropout."

"So you're saying that we could be going to Beacon with the person who attacked Blake?"

"I think its very likely Yang. We need to keep an eye out from now on in case they try to strike again."

"Ha ha, look at you. Weiss Schnee, P.I." Yang mocked. "I can see it now.."

"Don't"

"A dark and stormy night, Weiss Schnee P.I. sits alone in her rundown office.."

"Please stop."

"Suddenly there's a knock at the door. A young woman comes in looking for help..."

"Yang we're currently breaking and entering. Could you please act appropriately?"

"You're no fun." Yang replied faking a dejected look.

* * *

"AAHH!" Ruby cried out in frustration as she swung her scythe through a tree. She was standing alone in the brightly lit forest by Kaana's home trying in vain to work out her anger and frustration for the other day's encounters with her teammates. Again and again she cleaved through the trees around her. Each time hoping the cracking of wood or the sight of the splinters would give her some relief. However none would be had by the scythe wielder. By the time Ruby's exhaustion consumed her, a new clearing encircled the girl.

She stood silent in the woods trying to catch her breath before stowing her weapon and making her way back to the estate. Upon reaching the edge of the forest Ruby could see her dear friend Kaana, lying on a beach chair, clad in an emerald two piece swimsuit, and sipping a from a tall glass that she rested on the table next to her.

"Ruby!" Kaana called waving over the young girl. "Come, come. You must join me. Its a wonderful day wouldn't you agree."

When Ruby reached the woman she was waved over to an adjacent reclined chair.

"Please Ruby sit. Let me get you something to drink you look thirsty."

"I'm alright Kaana."

"Nonsense girl." Kaana replied as she grabbed her scroll of the table and pressed a button on the screen. She then spoke into the scroll. "Oh Shara could you be a dear and bring out a glass of lemonade for miss Rose."

"Certainly miss." Came the reply.

At Kaana's insistence Ruby began to relax. For the first time in a long time Ruby felt at ease. Something about Kaana's presence never failed to make Ruby feel welcome and safe.

Shara was out with Ruby's lemonade in short order. Its sweet taste and cold feel made Ruby realize how desperately she needed drink after her exhausting afternoon.

"This is really good. Thanks Kaana."

"Not a problem Little One. Drink up."

A smiling Ruby continued to enjoy her drink and the beautiful day she was experiencing. That was until Ruby noticed movement at the edge of the forest. A dark figure with deep crimson eyes skulked in the woods. Huntress training kicking in, Ruby straightened up in her seat and reached for her precious scythe.

"Calm down Ruby its nothing to worry about." said Kaana nonchalantly.

"B..But there's beowolf over there." Replied a confused Ruby.

"I said not to worry about it. Its not going to do anything."

"What do you mean? Its a creature of Grimm. They attack people."

Kaana turned to face Ruby. "Let me put it this way. The local Grimm and I have sort of an understanding. They're not going to come over here or try to hurt us."

Ruby noded with apprehension. She wasn't sure what Kaana meant when she said that. But Ruby trusted her, and that was enough for her.

"How do you think we managed to rescue you so easily? Do you think I actually would fight those things? You must be crazier than I thought." Kaana replied with a smile, returning to her drink.

"So Little One, what's on your mind?" Kaana sipped from her drink as she finished.

"What do you mean?"

"Ruby, you've been destroying half the forest. Something has to be up."

Ruby sheepishly looked down at her shirt, contemplating what she should say. "Yesterday on my way to the mission I ran into one of my teammates."

"Oh, I see."

"Well I lured her into an alley and beat her up."

Concern in her voice Kaana spoke up. "Did she get a good look at you?"

Ruby hastily spoke up, trying to calm the nervous woman. "No, no not at all. I was fast and she never got a look at me."

"Okay then. Go on." Said a reassured Kaana.

"I was just so angry, ya know? All I could think was how much I wanted to hurt her, make her pay for what she did. B..But it just.."

"Didn't feel satisfying?" Finished Kaana in an understanding tone. "Ruby look, these girls hurt you. They wanted you to suffer and they left you to die. No amount of back alley beatings are going to make up for that."

"I see." Said a saddened Ruby as the realization of what she was saying began to slowly sink in.

"Those girls tried to take everything from you. Your friends, your family, your home, and your future. Simply attacking or killing them is nowhere near the same level as what they did to you. If you want closure you're going to have to make them feel what you felt."

Kaana could almost see the gears in Ruby's head as new ideas formed, processing what she was just told.

"Um, thanks for the talk Kaana. I'm going to go for a walk."

"Sure Little One, any time."

* * *

The former huntress in training walked the outer edge of the estate lost in thought. The anger deep in her heart surfacing, embracing the new ideas that floated through her mind. She knew what she had to do. Death was to easy for them. They took everything from her. She would return the favor. Their comforting lives would be torn from them the same way they destroyed her's. Only once their once precious lives lay in ruins around them and all their friends had abandoned them, would she end her treacherous teammates with the blade of her scythe.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**So when I said that the title of "The Red Hood" was a typo what I didn't mention was that the original name was going to be "The Black Hood." I was going with that name because of the new color hood Ruby started using during the story.  
**

**Also that scene with Yang and Weiss investigating the shooting was the result of me spending two hours on a train reading nothing but Sherlock Holmes. So that's where that came from.**

**As always feel free to review. I love to see new reviews and follows come in. **

**Take care.  
**


	9. And So it Begins

Running. As fast as her legs could carry her yet she never moved. Darkness closing in, the figures ahead of her, her team, her friends, her family, moving forward never looking back. Ruby ran yet remained unmoving. No matter how loud she called or how much she pleaded, the figures never turned their gaze.

They would abandon her to the darkness.

Just as they did before. Just as everyone always will.

* * *

"Ruby dear. We're here." Ruby awoke feeling a gentle hand brushing hair out of her face. Opening her eyes, Ruby looked upon the warm smile of the woman in the snake scale dress. "There you go Little One. Had a good nap?"

Ruby stared into the caring emerald eyes looking back at her. She felt safe with Kaana. This was someone who would never forsake her, never mislead her, always care for her.

"Um.. Hey." Ruby sat up from her slouched position on the car seat, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "I guess I fell asleep for a bit there." She looked away from her friend and out the window of the moving car. Ruby, Kaana, and a few of Kaana's people were on their way deep into Vale. They were preparing to take over a drug operation at a warehouse there. Kaana's superiors did not appreciate small time drug dealers and their suppliers moving into their city, and neither did Kaana. However as long as her superiors never found out about this group, they would never have to find out that Kaana took it over for her own purposes.

The woman was working on securing assets to enable her to take over Vale's criminal syndicate. Being a local boss was not enough for the ambitious Kaana, she wanted more and Ruby would get her there. Her loyal pet was helping her to build up her own little empire. This would only be the most recent in a line of newly acquired assets. Whether it be intimidating a local weapons dealer or taking over a certain businesses, her Ruby eagerly fulfilled Kaana's every request.

Two large dark blue SUVs and a green car pulled to a stop in front of their target, a seemingly abandoned old warehouse.

"Now don't forget Little One, we need this place intact. Oh and remember to have fun, you've been so down lately. Just feel free to blow off some steam." Ruby look back at Kaana's smiling face as she exited the vehicle. Kaana's advice always did her some good. Ruby knew it would be a good idea to take her advice and enjoy this little excursion into the city for she had plans for after this.

Inside the warehouse men and faunus in white makeshift protection suits diligently worked to prepare their product. In this open space that consumed most of the building's space, some scurried between tables carrying product in various states of completion. Others worked at tables in front of delicate laboratory equipment, measuring and mixing. Everyone knew their work was sensitive and very illegal. All the work however came to an abrupt end when through the front door arrived eight men in black suits, smoothly arranging themselves shoulder to shoulder along the wall, leaving a space for the door. The front door opened once again, this time three figures entered. A man in a dark blue suit and matching brimmed hat led the group, flanked by another one of the men in black suits to his right. And to his left a short feminine figure in black and red. A black hood obscured her face.

The man in blue drew a pistol from his hip holster as he began to speak. His subordinates following suit drew their own mix of swords and guns. Yet strangely enough the girl did not. She stood there, unflinching, no reaction if any could be seen on her partially obscured face, even when the warehouse workers unsheathed their own weapons.

"Well well ladies and gentlemen. Call me Sloth. I am here to offer all you an exciting new career doing the exact same job you do know only this time you'll be working for us." He said, his arms open wide for effect.

The man in blue paused as he studied the room and its occupants. No responses other than drawn weapons greeted the intruders.

"Oh well then. I guess that's a no." As if a switch had been flipped, both sides attacked. Men leaped over tables, swords clashed, shots rang out. Yet amongst the mayhem the girl in black remained still, as if unfazed by the battle waging around her.

Her interference was broken when the man in blue flew past her into the wall, his plan of attack not succeeding. The hooded girl looked to her dazed companion, a grin spread across her concealed face. Turning towards the warehouse workers in white she reached behind her back, she pulled back her arm to reveal her weapon in its gun form. She fired a hail of bullets into armed workers, knocking them back. The hooded attacker shouted orders to her companions. This new commander, cool headed in battle, used her wits and innate combat sense to direct her troops.

With crashing swords, exploding slugs, and streaking black, the workers in white stood no chance. Under the commander in black it was not long until the intruders subdued the warehouse workers.

With the encounter over Kaana finally made an appearance in the warehouse drug factory her people captured for her. Once she was done surveying the mostly intact facility and praising Ruby for her phenomenal job securing the place for her, Kaana called her faunus assistant Shara to bring in a crew to get the place operational. Once she was done she turned back to her newest star.

"Hey Little One I'm going to be here awhile getting everything back up and running. Sloth's tactics sure did a number on this place. Oh well. At least I should be able to turn a nice profit on this venture." Kaana paused for a moment to remember why she was talking to Ruby. "Anyway When Shara gets hear she can give you a lift back home."

"That's okay Kaana. There are a few things I need to do while I'm in Vale."

Kaana gave Ruby a quizzical look. "What do you mean Ruby?"

A devilish grin grew across the hooded girl's face as she looked over her scythe. "Its finally time I start repaying some old friends."

* * *

"No, no, no Jaune. Influence semblances do not include Polarity. That's in the Control family." The redheaded spartan warrior tried to clarify an obscenely long lecture on semblances in combat to the confused Jaune. Pyrrha's explanations took up most of team RWBY and JNPR's journey back to their dorms.

Now that Blake was finally released from the hospital the two teams could spend some much needed time together. Even if that meant spending what seemed like hours in boring lectures followed by Pyrrha's dumbed down explanations for Jaune. Weiss had a hard time fathoming how someone accepted into Beacon could be so thrown by something so simple as the types of semblances. To her this was basic information every would be warrior would already be accustomed too. Tired to listening to Jaune's questions Weiss let out with her own extensive knowledge on the subject.

"Jaune, Control semblances allow the user to control objects around them. Like Pyrrha here. Influence let the user affect a target's mind. Create illusions, implant a suggestion that stuff."

"You mean mind control!?" Jaune replied with a mix of excitement and confusion.

"No you dummy. A person's mind is too powerful for such simple tricks to work. This only works on the weak minded like animals, grimm, or you."

"Hey!"

"A conscious mind can easily tell they are being manipulated. But in the heat of combat even a simple suggestion may confuse an opponent long enough to get the upper hand." Weiss continued her explanation in the same manner she would to a teacher.

Jaune scratched his head, "So its not mind control but its like mind control. I'm confused."

"Maybe I can clear it up for you inside." Pyrrha said as she directed an even more confused Jaune into their room.

Two of the remaining three, Blake and Yang, looked to Weiss.

"What, I thought my explanation was perfectly adequate." Weiss put extra emphasis on the "my."

"Keep telling yourself that." Yang said with an amused smile.

"Whatever you two."

Weiss turned to unlock her door. Swinging it open the team was greeted by disturbing sight. Their room, their home, violated. The curtain gashed, Blake's novels strewn across the floor in pieces, a shattered bookshelf where they used to lay, Weiss's painting shattered, scorch marks throughout Weiss's bed and across the room's carpeted floor, and a message on the window. The red letters traversing the the glass read, "We know what you did. We are coming."

Weiss and Blake stood paralyzed in the doorway, their sanctuary defiled and the cryptic warning was almost too much for the duo. Yang on the other hand experienced a mix of amusement and anger as she examined the message in detail.

"Well I guess our investigation is ruffing someone's feathers wouldn't you say Blake?"

Before Yang could turn back to her companions Weiss bolted down the hallway.

"Wait here Yang, I'll get her." Said Blake, quickly following the heiress.

Blake found Weiss around the corner at the end of the hall huddled with her knees to her chest and hugging her legs.

The faunus put her hand on the clearly distraught girl's shoulder. "Its going to be okay. Its just a room."

"Its not the room. Someone knows. They know what we did to her. That's what this message is about. They know and they're coming to punish us." Weiss looked up to her friend, her face filled with tears.

"We don't know that. Yang could be right. This could all be about us looking into the shooting, and this is the shooter's way of telling us to back off." Blake tried to reassure her teammate.

Weiss wiped her tears away with her sleeve. "You don't really believe that do you?"

"I do."

"You're a terrible liar sometimes, you know that right?"

* * *

Returning home Ruby cursed herself for losing control like that. She meant the visit to her former teammates' dorm to be a simple one. Get in, leave intimidating message, get out. But seeing her attempted murderers living such tranquil lives was too much for her. They betrayed her, left her to be devoured by beasts, yet they get to go on as if nothing happened? Paintings of idyllic woods and romance novels next to the very place where Ruby once slept, unknowingly sharing that space with the very ones who plotted her demise. After having scrawled her warning on their window Ruby's hate and anger got the better of the girl. Ruby barely remembered her rage filled outburst. It was all a haze of a slashing scythe to her. When it was all over she found herself standing in the wrecked room. It was only then that she realized that in her rage that she had inadvertently broken some of Weiss's dust bottles and burnt a good chunk of the carpet and Weiss's bed. Luckily Ruby was able to put out what remained of the fire before the smoke detectors could go off or more importantly, before any fire could damage Yang's stuff. Her sister was innocent in all this, Ruby was keen on keeping it that way.

* * *

After Ruby retired to her room she approached the conference table she had put in. Strewn across its surface were maps of Vale , floor layouts of Beacon, and surveillance photographs of her former teammates. Tools for her revenge. All she acquired thanks to her new employment. Ruby was thankful for Kaana's understanding and help with this endeavor, for she knew she could not do this alone.

Ruby's attention snapped to the door when she heard someone knocking. "Come in." She called. In through the doorway came the woman in green and red. Kaana sauntered over to Ruby's side and proceeded to pick up a photograph of Blake.

"So how did your visit go" Are they?" Kaana paused her last question, unsure if she wanted the answer.

"They're alive. I'm just getting started." Kaana noded in response and turned her gaze back to the table, trying to piece together what Ruby's game may be.

The girl in black thumbed through a file she picked off the table. She read this before, but needed to keep it fresh. "Do we have any cops on the payroll who would be interested in working off a tip about a fugitive hiding in Vale?"

Kaana thought for a moment before replying. "I may have some people in mind."

"Good." Said Ruby calmly before she used both hands to push several layers of papers aside to look at the ones underneath. "But first I am going to need one more thing."

"Ruby please, what are you doing?" The concerned woman pleaded. This single minded obsession was starting to worry her. Ever since their last talk about Ruby's run in with her former teammate, Ruby was spending a great deal of time in her room planning and plotting. The girl was growing more and more distant of late. This worried Kaana.

Ruby rested her hands on the table and lifted her gaze. "First I'm going to cut them off from their friends and Yang. Next I am going to destroy what comfortable lives they have left. Then, and only then will I end this. But before that I still need one thing."

"Um..What is that Little One?"

"You were monitoring all the students that day. I need copies of the pictures."

"Which pictures?" Kaana nervously replied, already knowing the answer.

"The ones of my murder."

* * *

"You have your drink Blondy, are you happy know?"

Blake was amused by the way Yang could make a grown man surrounded by armed guards in his own club almost wet himself with fear. Yang had walked in here not even batting an eyelash at the drawn guns and nonchalantly dragged Junior off mentioning something about a drink. '_Yang sure had a way with men.' _

Blake and Weiss stood by a table and watched Yang work from a distance with awkward glances being bounced around between themselves and the nervous guards. The duo already learned that in these situations it was best to stand back and let Yang do her thing.

"Oh come on Junior, I know you would've heard something about this." Remarked Yang as she put on her sweet girl act. "There's a new assassin in town, likes to wear a black cloak."

"Look here Blondy, I refuse to get mixed up in this. So you and your little friends can just go."

"So you do know something. Junior, don't you know its rude to hide things from a girl." Yang's retorts were always as playful as they were threatening

"All I know is that a local mob leader has some new muscle. A girl who fancies wearing all black, including a cape and hood. Might be your girl."

"What's this leader's name?"

"She goes by the name of Kaana Book. But I wouldn't go marching over there if I were you. She's not nearly as nice I am.

"You see, that wasn't so hard. Now, where can I find her?"

Blake let her mind wander while Yang continued pressing the frightened Junior for information. She drifted to thoughts why they were doing this. Was this really about her attack? Was this Weiss's way of bringing the team back together, or was it something more. Yang was spending much of her time doting on the faunus. Yang had always been the caring sort, looking out for those closest to her was part of who she was. But this was different. Yang almost seemed obsessed with Blake and Weiss's well being. And with the single minded purpose Yang put into this hunt, Blake was starting to wonder who Yang was really trying to protect.

Weiss on the other hand was a different story. The heiress's behavior was starting to worry Blake. Even though they were starting to act as a team again Weiss still spent much time alone. Sometimes spending hours away from the group. Blake followed her a few times. She used her stealthy nature to remain hidden and watch from afar. Weiss would spend her time standing at Beacon's cliffs, just staring, gazing into the abyss.

Outside of that behavior Weiss still refused to touch her weapon. Although she claimed an arm injury she was not fooling anyone. Even the professors had taken notice. So far they feigning ignorance of this fact, letting the grieving girl continue in hopes that soon she would talk to someone about it.

With Yang's visit to her friend over with the trio returned to Beacon and their dorm. While the repairs to the room were quick thanks to Goodwitch using her abilities to put everything back together the emotional damage of having their safe zone violated was another matter. Someone had walked into their room like it was unlocked and trashed it, even going so far as to leave the place locked on their way out. Because of this Goodwitch insisted that the room's locks be changed. Not that Anyone who lived in the room actually thought it would help.

After entering their room Blake and Yang put their weapons away while Weiss sat on her bed. These last few days had been tiring for the heiress. When Yang went to hang up her gauntlets she noticed a curious sight. On the floor in front of the door lay a paper-sized envelope as if it had been slid under the door when the group was out. Intrigued Yang bent over to pick up the letter. This grabbed the other occupants' attention as Blake paused her changing into night clothes and Weiss leaned forward on her bed to get a better view of what the Blonde found.

"What'd you find?" Asked Blake.

"I don't know. I think someone left this for us."

"At least whoever it is, at least they didn't break in and trash the place this time." Snarked Weiss.

Yang eagerly opened the envelope and retrieved its contents, allowing the envelope to fall to the floor.

The brawler stood in silence, holding the two pieces of paper in her hands, studying them, looking for anything what would give answers as her world crashed around her.

"Y..Yang. What is it?" A concerned Blake took a step toward her partner. Yang abruptly stepped backward and clutched the envelope's contents tighter.

Seeing the worrying display Weiss stood up from her bed. Whatever was in that envelope, Weiss knew it was not good.

Yang's expression blended shock and confusion was she turned the pages to her teammates. "W..Wha..What is this!?"

Blake and Weiss's hearts stopped, stomachs fell through the floor. Weiss felt as if she was going to pass out. A thousand explanations shot through her mind, ways to tell her it wasn't true, they couldn't be real, this couldn't be real.

The pages Yang held, two pictures, one of a young girl in red being stabbed through the chest, the other, that same girl being left behind by those she called friends, surrounded by monsters.

Blake was the first to regain enough composure to speak. "Please Yang, its not what it looks like. Just please listen to me."

Any hopes Yang had that these photographs could be forgeries were shattered by their reactions. Recognition and fear filled their faces, the contents of these pictures were known to those girls.

Weiss braced herself for the oncoming storm that was Yang's rage. Any second now the brawler's hair would ignite and eyes turn a red matching the rage in her heart. She would unleash her fury on the lairs. The worst part was, Weiss knew she deserved it. Part of her wanted Yang to punish her for what she did to Ruby. Living every day, while her friend was dead because of her, was a guilt Weiss could not bare to live with anymore.

"What did you do?" Yang asked, the brawler, unable, or unwilling to comprehend the evidence in her hands.

Blake continued pleading with the girl. "You have to understand, it was an accident. We didn't mean to do it. You have to believe us. I never wanted to hurt Ruby."

Weiss knew this was when it would start. Any second now Yang would launch into a blind rage. Any, second…

Yang shook her head, signaling Blake to stop. The look on her face as she backed out of the room was more devastating than any attack. Every fight she was ever in, Yang was one thing, passionate. Her power grew from her will to fight. This, this was something no enemy, no matter how large or how much it hurt her has ever seen. This look, was something Weiss could never have prepared herself for.

The heiress collapsed to her knees, tears filled her face as Yang walked out of more than just their room. The look on Yang's face told her all.

Disgust.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**So far this story is a lot of fun to write. Its interesting how I originally planed to focus more on Ruby compared to the other characters. But something about the rest of the gang is so much more interesting to me.**

**Thank you all for reading and feel free to follow and review.  
**


	10. Emptiness

Ruby hated these meetings. Gatherings such as this one called for slow and methodical forms of action, two things the young would be huntress was not. Seated around the outside edge of a U shaped table arrangement in the private room of a Vale restaurant was the upper management of the local syndicate and a few select associates, Ruby herself included. She sat to the left side of Kaana who was discussing with the man to her right whatever dish the woman in green was currently cutting into. Being disinterested in the finer points of exotic spices, Ruby continued to study this room. Fifteen men and women sat eating their meals and chatting with the people around them. Beneath the thin cover of a friendly meal lay a dark seriousness to this dinner. Kaana told her before they left the mansion this afternoon that last minute invites to dinner by the upper members of the family were never to be taken lightly. Kaana feared that this summons was because her latest private endeavors were discovered.

Ruby listened to her host's loud conversation, he began to discus as he put it "some curious local happenings." His volume increased just enough to gather everyone's attention as he continued, while his tone was that of someone recounting an amusing tale, the chill those words sent through the room reminded everyone this was not a laughing matter. Now that he had the room's attention Mister Brontana, dressed in a white and blue suit, addressed his companions.

"Its interesting the activity that is happening in this city. Three shipments of military grade hardware," He snapped his fingers for effect "gone! Now isn't that just the darndest thing. Why its almost as if someone with major resources is stealing things in my city and not giving me my hard earned share. That is just rude wouldn't you say?" HIs laughter did nothing to hide his displeasure. "Why even the new local dust thieves were polite enough to come to an arrangement with me. But these new people are just being insulting, waltzing into Vale and not even giving me a call. Well its not like I can blame them at this point am I right?" He smiled and nudged the man in the black suit who sat next to him. A man who tried desperately to maintain a fake laugh amidst the threatening atmosphere. "Because at this point if I were to find them, heck I might do to them what this fine chef did to this fish here." Brontana violently stabbed his dinner the moment he finished his sentence.

With that their host continued with dinner as if nothing was amiss. Nothing more needed to be said, for everyone in the room heard his message loud and clear.

Hours later Kaana and Ruby returned to their home, the moment the front door closed Kaana's cool demeanor collapsed. Crying out in anger she threw a flower pot that used to sit next to the entrance across the room, shattering it on the opposing wall. "Damn it!" She yelled as the last pieces of the once whole pot hit the tile floor.

"Its okay Kaana, he doesn't know it was you." Said Ruby, trying to calm her upset friend.

"Oh no, but he suspects. He already knows about the thefts of military hardware. Hopefully he doesn't know about the sales to that Torchwick fellow. Bron would be even angrier if he found out he wasn't getting in on an arms deal. That was the whole point of that dinner. He knew something was fishy so he called all the suspects into a room hoping someone would crack. And if he doesn't find someone to blame soon, well, lets just say I would rather be that fish than go through what he has in store."

* * *

After the confrontation Weiss expected to see the police arriving in short order. Yet, nothing happened. The sun rose, classes were held, and life went on. Everything was normal except for one important difference, Yang.

Weiss barely saw Yang after that night. The blonde failed to return to the room after storming out. She did not show up for lunch and even skipped classes that day. After dinner JNPR came by and collected some of Yang's belongings, clothes, pillow, blanket, and the like. It was obvious to Blake and Weiss that Yang told the team across the hall what she learned the previous night. The heiress had never seen Nora so quiet before. To Weiss it looked as if something wanted to burst out of the girl, yet at the same time she was desperately trying to contain whatever it was. Ren was his usual controlled self. Jaune on the other hand tried and failed to make small talk about anything that was unrelated to the task at hand. His nervousness at trying to avoid bringing up the obvious only served to make the swordsman more of a dunce than usual. Pyrrha tried her best to control her teammates, quickly pushing a blabbering Jaune out of RWBY's room when he reached a point of maximum awkwardness. When she was the last to leave, Pyrrha turned to speak to Weiss. Failing to find any words she merely placed a reassuring hand on the heiress's shoulder. A simple gesture to say that it would all be alright, was all she could do before she turned and joined her team.

Part of Weiss wished Yang would turn her in so that all of this would end. She tried being happy, living life as she used to. For a time she even fooled herself into believing she was happy again. But soon every time Weiss would feel even the slightest enjoyment at life, she would be reminded of her lost friend. It was her fault Ruby was gone. Weiss knew she did not deserve to be happy. Ruby should have been the one to walk out of that forest, not her. Weiss soon learned that it was easier to not care about life rather than try to live it. She found a certain freedom and sense of control in not feeling. Her friends, her classwork, even her training, all passed by. Feelings were a weakness, something to be overcome. Removing these obstacles gave her the sense of control and the relief she so desperately craved.

So when Yang discovered the truth, Weiss was almost glad. This was the moment when all the lies and the pain would end. The end she so craved was at hand. Yet, nothing. As far as Weiss knew Yang only told JNPR, choosing to remain silent to all others. JNPR seemed unsure as to what they should be doing. Weiss was not sure if they remained quiet under Yang's orders or their own. She did not talk to them anymore to find out. Weiss knew she did not deserve their friendship anymore, not that any of it mattered. None of it mattered. Life and experiences slowly flattened into meaningless nothing. Life was better this way.

Three days after the incident in the team's room, during a particularly boring lecture on dust usage, when Blake's past finally caught up with her. She sat next to a disinterested Weiss, while Yang of course was seated on the opposite side of the lecture hall. Blake herself on the other hand tried her best to pay attention and stay awake. Normally she would start a hushed conversation with one of her teammates. But with the Yang situation the way it is and Weiss being increasingly distant of late, such distractions were unlikely to occur. For Blake, desperate times call for desperate measures. Pulling out her scroll from her pack she discreetly typed a message for Weiss.

"This has got to be pretty dull for you right? You must know all about dust given your heavy usage of it."

Send.

Blake watched for her teammate's reaction as the girl looked at her incoming message. With almost no emotion, Weiss quickly typed out a reply.

"No."

Not the riveting response Blake was hoping for. At the very least she was expecting an annoyed reply telling her to pay attention in class. As Blake began to type out another message she heard doors behind her at the back of the lecture hall open followed soon by the professor's silence. Blake turned her gaze up behind her to see professor Ozpin entering the hall followed closely by two men in police uniforms. If it was not for Yang's look of confusion Blake would have assumed this was her doing. From what Blake could see Ozpin looked upset about this situation, but at least the look he gave the officers when he told them to wait at the door indicated to her that his ire was directed at those two. He walked down the right side of the room to the row where Blake sat and moved over to face the faunus. He spoke in a low tone as to not bring any more attention to the poor girl.

"Excuse me miss Belladonna, these men from the Vale police department would like to have a word with you."

"Um...Okay sir." Blake was already calculating all the possible escape routes.

'_The windows?'_

'_Possible. Its a long drop and I don't have Gambol Shroud so the landing is going to be rough.'_

'_The back doors?'_

'_Better option. Those cops don't look very difficult to get past. But at the same time I don't know if they have backup waiting out there.'_

'_That leaves the exit next to the board.'_

'_Doubtful I'd make it past the professor let alone Ozpin. Even if by some miracle I slip by them I am still faced with the same problem as the back doors.'_

As if he could hear her internal monolog, Ozpin leaned a little closer to Blake and spoke again in a much softer tone.

"I suggest you go with them miss Belladonna. It would be best if those two could go home without any new bruises don't you think?"

Blake nodded in response and rose from her chair. When she reached for her pack Ozpin spoke again.

"It might be best if you leave your school supplies with your team..." Ozpin paused. Taking stock of Yang's distance from the rest of the team he continued. "...mate."

All eyes were on Blake as she was lead up the stairs to the two police officers waiting at the back of the lecture hall. When they stepped out of the room one of the officers reached for a pair of handcuffs.

"Now I don't believe those will be necessary. Don't you think?" Said Ozpin, that last part aimed squarely at Blake. With that the officer nodded at Ozpin and lead Blake out of Beacon.

As she rode the airship way from Beacon, part of Blake felt as though this would be the last time she would ever see it.

* * *

Soon Blake found herself in a small interrogation room at the Vale police department. She had not been arrested yet, which she found to be a good sign. The door swiftly swung open and in came a man dressed in a suit carrying a folder in one hand and a coffee cup in the other.

"Well, well well miss Belladonna. My name is detective Oak, you and I are going to have a bit of a chat about the White Fang." As he finished his statement he slammed the folder onto the table between him and Blake, causing its contents to spill out over the table. Blake looked in over the pictures and newspaper clippings in horror. White Fang protests over the years, all with her image circled. That life she tried to leave behind, back to haunt her.

Detective Oak took the seat across from Blake and began to speak.

"Now I am very interested in how you really ended up at the docks that night. Do you honestly expect us to believe that a member of the White Fang happened to stumble across their operation in the middle of the night, and do you really think I am going to buy for even a moment that you were trying to stop them?"

"I'm not part of the White Fang and I have nothing to do with their thefts." Blake shouted back angrily.

Oak threw his arm across the table and firmly grasped Blake's bow, ripping it from her scalp and slamming down on the table. Her cat ears instinctively flattened themselves against her head.

"I don't know, you look pretty involved to me you filthy faunus."

* * *

Back at Beacon Weiss was unsure how she should handle the situation. Ozpin assured her that the police only wanted to talk to Blake about the recent incident at the docks. But it was obvious to her that Ozpin was not entirely convinced of that fact. Weiss tried to get herself worked up about this new development, but somehow all she could feel was hollow emptiness. She saw this as the end of RWBY. Yet in some way that thought brought her peace. Her team did not deserve to exist anymore, not after what she did.

Later that day Weiss was at Beacon's gym per her usual routine. Keeping in top shape was paramount to a huntress. Normally her routine would leave her with a sense pride or accomplishment. The right number of laps on the track, always better than what most of her peers could do, well these days anyway, or a new personal best for crunches never failed to remind her how good she was. Yet like everything of late even this felt futile and flat. Just another thing on her schedule to be ticked off before she went to bed. Weiss retired herself to the gym's showers to clean off before returning to her room. The warm flow relaxed her muscles and helped clear her mind after that long day. Little did the heiress know that while she cleaned herself in the locker room shower, a certain tiger tailed faunus disguised in a Beacon uniform slipped unnoticed to the locker where Weiss's things were stored. The simple electronic lock stood no chance of keeping the intruder out.

* * *

Ruby rushed around her room as she simultaneously unpacked a box of pre-paid scrolls on the table and grabbing strawberries out of a bowl on her bed. She could not remember the last time she slept. The fifteen year old girl avoided it at all costs. Every time she felt herself surcoming to exaustion she swallowed another pill from her bottle of stimulants she acquired; anything she could do to keep the darkness away. The nightmares never stopped, every night they would return. Those she called friends would come to hurt her again. It seemed like every time she closed her eyes those demons were waiting for her.

Midway through unpacking another scroll an idea hit her. Rushing to the other side of the desk she looked over a report she already read a dozen times before. She quickly scanned it then shot back to continue her work with the scroll.

"Hey Little One, what are you doing up so late?" Kaana softly spoke as she poked her head into Ruby's room.

"I'm fine I don't need sleep look here now with the faunus arrested and her world is crashing around her I can focus on my partner she is a creature of habit hope you don't mind I borrowed Shara for something. Ruby spoke almost as fast as she dashed between her various projects. Kaana could barely keep track of the girl let alone follow her train of thought.

"Now Ruby while I don't mind you working on your own ops I think you need to slow down a little. Your enemies will be there in the morning."

"No need I feel fine." The girl paused to look at a picture of Weiss and Blake. Anger filling her face she crumpled the photo up and hurled it across the room before slamming her fist into the table. "Look, I'm okay. With one murder's comfortable life effectively destroyed I will be finishing with her soon. Ruby said forcing herself to be calm and collected. "Now I just have to deal with my former partner. Reminding her that there is someone out there who could release her darkest secret to the world at any time and there is nothing she can do to stop it, will certainly break her."

She then continued on with her rushing as if nothing had happened only now she was muttering to herself as she worked.

"They're not going to hurt me anymore. Once I stop them I will be safe. I can return to Yang and no one will desert me again."

Feeling the Young girl was now obvious to her presence, Kaana backed out of the room and quietly closed the door behind her, only to find herself face to face with her faunus assistant Shara.

"You're losing control of your little side projects, you know that right?" There was genuine worry in the faunus's voice.

"You think I don't know that." Kaana snapped. "I'm sorry. I'm just under a lot of stress right now. The situation with Bron and now this, I just don't know what to do."

"You need to focus more on the Brontana situation right now. If he finds out what you've been up to we're both dead."

"I know that. As long as we keep being discreet he won't find out, and if I can just give Ruby the right nudge I can get her back on track."

"Your last 'nudge' is what gave us this situation. You wanted a loyal soldier, well you got this." Shara said gesturing at the door. "A messed up child with an unhealthy obsession about destroying her friends. I'm impressed with her efforts by the way, just have to say that. I know this was the first time you've ever tried something like this, but it failed and we need to get an exit strategy."

Shara paused, resting a hand on her boss's shoulder. "Look, I'm your friend and we've been through some serious shit together and I've always had your back. But this, this whole situation with both of your projects is going to blow up in our face. Just promise me you'll fix this?"

Kaan reached up and put her hand on Shara's and smiled. "I will, don't worry. And, thank you."

"Any time."

* * *

Weiss sat at an empty desk in the library, she pulled out her scroll and checked the time. A full day and a half with no word from Blake, Weiss knew this was not a good sign. She came to the conclusion that Blake must have been arrested or at the very least is being held until charges can be filed. Scrolling through her messages, nothing. Not a single response to her message to Yang and JNPR about Blake's situation. '_Not that I would expect them to care anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if they were glad about this turn of events. Its not Blake's fault though. Its mine, they should be hating me, not her.' _There were however three messages she made a point to save. They were each from a different number she had never seen before. Selecting them she viewed their contents once again. Each one was simply a copy of the same pictures Yang found. A simple reminder to Weiss of why she deserved this. Why her life was not worth anything anymore.

Returning her scroll to the pouch in her belt she rose from her seat and made her way out of the library.

* * *

Cold, that was what Blake felt in this cell. She had been taken to this small concrete cell with a single cot, sink, and toilet for the night. A respite from the intense interrogation. On and on Oak went about Torchwick, the White Fang, Adam, and her alleged involvement in their activities. She could tell that Oak knew more than he was letting on, but still she gave him nothing. Blake knew this was only a stalling measure, it was only a matter of time before her new life, the one she worked so hard for, would be lost forever.

Her moment of solitude was shattered when she saw detective Oak enter the room containing her cell with two, what she assumed to be, plain clothed officers. Smiling, Oak opened up her cell door and said to Blake, "Good news miss Belladonna, you're free to go."

"W...What?" Blake's confusion permeated her voice. Of the many things she did not expect to happen, being released was definitely on her list.

"Yes of course. We decided that we have no grounds to hold you, so you're free to go."

"Well, thank you. I guess I should be going now." Blake rose to her feet and walked toward Oak.

"Now since its such a long way back to Beacon, these men and I will give you a ride."

"No, I'm fine."

"Oh, I insist. A young lady such as yourself shouldn't be wandering all alone." Oak's tone made it clear this was not a request.

Blake squeezed her way past Oak and bumped into one of his companions, who proceeded to place a firm hand on her back to guide the girl out of the room. He was unaware that Blake was now in possession of is scroll.

* * *

Beacon's cliffs were peaceful and open. Weiss came here more and more recently. She stood at the drop's edge, the toes of her shoes hanging over oblivion. The heiress never saw herself as a quitter, obstacles were meant to be overcome and beaten. Every challenge was met head on, her drive was something her friends and family were always proud of. But now, now she wondered why any of it mattered. She used to feel enjoyment from being the best at whatever she did. She was Weiss Schnee, fantastic singer and even better huntress in training. Yet she found it impossible to feel any kind of enjoyment from what she used to love the most. '_None of it matters. Is there even a point to all of this? Does anything that happened really matter?'_

The drop in front of her brought emotion to the girl. A comfort. A welcoming embrace to carry her away from all of this emptiness. The idea of not being around anymore brought a certain amount of comfort to Weiss. Her scroll beeped in her pouch. I quick glance proved it was as she thought. Another copy of that photo. A reminder of her greatest sin. Unwilling to see it anymore, Weiss tossed the rectangular device aside. The scroll crashed into a rock that lay to her left, spilling the scroll's contents across the grass.

Weiss closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the wind and imagined the sweet embrace of the open nothingness in front of her.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**This chapter was much harder for me to write. This is a chapter full of things that needed to happen but I had a difficult time making it interesting to read. I hope I did well.**

**As for the deal with Weiss, that took the most time to write. See in order to make her internal dilemma come across as genuine I researched and read first hand accounts of depression. I felt anything less than a well researched take on this issue would be insulting to anyone who has gone through similar symptoms.  
**

**One last thing. Someone asked that if Ruby really wanted revenge way wouldn't she just kill Blake and Weiss. To quote Khan from the second Star Trek movie: "I have done far worse than kill you. I have hurt you, and I wish to go on, hurting you."**

**As always feel free to follow and review. I really enjoy seeing new reviews come in.  
**

**Thank you for reading.**


	11. Remorse and Anguish

Weiss stood swaying slightly, listening to the waters so far below her. She imagined the peaceful embrace of nothingness, open and inviting. With the force of an Ursa, Weiss suddenly felt a something slam into her. She was thrown backwards into the ground, the wind knocked out of her, she lay on her back, her eyes still closed, feeling a weight on top of her. Slowly Weiss opened her eyes. Laying on her, holding herself up with hands on Weiss's shoulders was Yang. Blue eyes stared up into lilac. Yang's face was filled with a mix of anger and sorrow. Tears welling up, Yang collapsed on to Weiss, pulling her into a tight hug.

Under the pressure of Yang's body and her hug, Weiss felt something she had not felt in a long time, warmth.

Yang abruptly broke the embrace and sat up. She pushed herself of the white haired girl and scooted over to a rock to Weiss's right and sat against it. The two stared at each other in silence. Both unable to find any words for the longest time.

Looking down at her feet and picking at a blade of grass in her hand, Yang finally broke the silence.

"Don't scare me like that again."

Weiss looked away from Yang to where she had been standing, realizing what it must have looked like to Yang.

"If you thought I was going to...do that, why did you stop me?" Weiss was also staring at her boots, unwilling to look Yang in the eye.

Weiss's response came in the form of a punch to her right shoulder.

"Because you're my friend you idiot!"

Weiss looked up to see Yang returning to her seat. "But, after what, I did to, to her? You should be furious."

Yang paused. She breathed in deeply, then slowly released it. "Look Weiss, I am furious. Part of me wants nothing more than to beat you into a bloody mess. But, you're my teammate, my friend. I know you, and I know you would never have intentionally hurt Ruby, and damnit I care about you. So I am forcing myself to forgive you."

Stunned, Weiss could only stare blankly at Yang. Seeing the lack of response Yang continued.

"I had a lot going through my head and I'm still trying to figure it all out. I understand why you didn't tell anybody, damnit if I don't hate you for it. But after what happened to Blake I realized that I can't lose you two. You're my team. I love you guys."

Weiss began to sob. The first real cry she had in as along as she could remember. Yang shifted over to the younger girl and held her tight.

"Shh, let it out. Let it all out." Yang comforted as she held her with one hand and stroked her hair with the other.

"I'm sorry." Weiss repeated between sobs. "I'm so sorry." A message not just for Yang.

There sat two girls by the edge of a cliff, one crying, one holding the other in a caring grasp.

After what seemed like hours Weiss's cries slowly transitioned to a sniffle. Yang rubbed Weiss's back before loosening her grip on the girl. "Feel better now?"

Weiss looked into the caring smile of her teammate and wiped away a tear. "A little, thank you."

"Anytime Weiss."

Yang let go of Weiss and sat next to her. Weiss looked to Yang and spoke.

"What are you even doing here?"

"When you stopped responding to everyone's messages I got concerned. So I used the team track to find you."

Weiss remembered how the same application on scrolls that told teammates each other's aura levels could also be used to track their approximate location.

Yang continued. "When I saw the signal cut out by the cliffs I panicked." She almost looked embarrassed by her protective outburst.

"Oh, I see." Weiss responded meekly. "I kinda threw my scroll over there." She pointed at her scroll and its internal components spilled out over the grass.

Yang smirked and shook her head as she crawled over to the wreckage. Something suddenly hit Weiss about what Yang said.

"Wait, what messages? None of you have been responding to mine."

"What do you mean?" Said confusedly. "All of JNPR and I have been trying to get ahold of you. We're all worried about you." Weiss tried to make sense of what the blonde said as Yang began putting Weiss's scroll back together.

"huh, I think I found your problem Weiss." Yang held up what looked like a simple computer chip.

"What is that?"

Yang leaned back as she spoke. "They're normally used by paranoid parents who want to control who their children communicate with on their scrolls." A grin grew across her face as she began to reminisce. "My second year at Signal Ruby put one of these into my scroll. I couldn't figure out why none of my friends or any of the boys at school would call me. When I found out, I was so mad and Ruby just smiled and laughed." Yang chuckled after she finished recounting her tale. It was the first time she had been able to laugh when thinking about her sister.

"I guess someone didn't want me talking to you guys."

"I guess not. Must be the same people who sent us those pictures. They really must not want us looking into that shooting." Yang said as she finished putting the scroll back together. Weiss's scroll popped back to life.

"See Weiss, good as new. Oo look you got a new message from an unknown number." She handed the device back to Weiss, who clicked on the message.

"Yang!" Panic in her voice as she showed the message to her teammate. "Its Blake!"

Three letters shown on the screen. KCB. A while ago their former team leader decided that they needed a code incase the team needed to send important messages to each other. Something she got from those spy movies she loved to watch. Looking at the text on the screen, Yang's face soon grew the same concern as Weiss's.

KCB. Kidnapped. Car. Blake.

* * *

The two girls raced to Beacon's shuttle. Weiss began to pull up the team finder, hoping that Blake's scroll was near the missing teammate. Yang shut off her scroll as she finished her call.

"The police receptionist said Blake was released earlier today." Frustration and fear filled Yang's voice.

Weiss came to a hault. She knew what she needed to do.

"Wait here Yang, there is something I need to grab." Before Yang could protest, Weiss was off.

Weiss entered her team's room. There on her desk sat her target. The thought of holding it still made her heart race, but she needed to do it. '_Come on Weiss. Your friend needs your help.' _With a determination she had not felt in a long time, Weiss Schnee reached out and grasped her rapier. Holding Myrtenaster she said to herself. "Its been too long."

Soon Weiss and Yang raced down the highway on Yang's motorcycle, weaving between traffic at breakneck speeds. Weiss held her scroll out looking at the tracker.

"Her scroll's still traveling down this road!" She shouted over the noise of the air rushing by.

"There!" Yang pointed ahead of them. Three large black SUVs traveled down the road in a single file line.

"Gottcha. Looks like the right target." Now Weiss was worried. For all her training, how to stop three speeding cars without hurting the passenger inside was not something she was ever taught how to do. '_Ruby would've come up with something.'_

"Yang, what do we do?"

"Don't worry princess, while you were taking your sweet time I made a call."

* * *

Sandwiched between two men in the backseat of an SUV sat Blake. She hoped her simple message would be understood. But given how things had been going lately, help seemed unlikely. A lone Weiss would be hard pressed to save her. From what she could see, she was in the middle car of a three car convoy. Hopefully her gear was in one of the other cars. It was unlikely they would stick it in the same car as a prisoner. '_Maybe if I could get to a weapon when we stop. No that won't work. They'll be expecting that.'_

She was alone and there was nothing she could do to save herself.

As she watched the front car pass out from under an overpass, suddenly a streak of pink shot down from the sky and impacted the car's hood. The front end of the SUV slammed into the ground before an explosion destroyed the engine block and shot the pink object into the sky.

"Shit!" Her driver yelled as he swerved to avoid flying wreckage. Blake glanced behind her at the following vehicle in time to see a person wearing green standing on that car's hood. He was holding onto the roof with one hand and shooting out the windshield with a gun he held in the other. With incredible speed the man in green reached into the car and jerked the steering wheel to the side, causing the SUV to roll. The car's assailant nimbly front flipped, allowing the rolling SUV to pass harmlessly under him.

By this point Blake's vehicle reached the same point where the first SUV was attacked. As if on queue, Blake heard two large objects land on the car's roof as well as what sounded like a high pitched scream. A sword pierced the roof between the driver and the passenger while a girl with bright red hair and gold armor appeared on the hood.

"Pyrrha?" Blake exclaimed. Not sure if this was real or not.

The two men in the front set drew their weapons, but before they could take aim, Pyrrha held up her arm and threw it off to her side. Following her command, the steering wheel rolled back and forth causing the SUV to spin around and slam into the highway's sidewall.

A dazed Blake tried to make sense of her surroundings. Her car now faced backward on the road and the men on either side of her looked just as out of it as she was. Without warning the door to her left flew open and a triangular shield slammed into the captor sitting there. Jaune unbuckled the man's seatbelt and dragged him out of the car.

"Need a hand." Jaune smiled and extended his hand to Blake who eagerly accepted it. With Jaune's help a dazed Blake was pulled out of the car. Around her she could see the battle happening around her. Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha were engaged in battle with her kidnappers.

A man in front of Nora scurried along the ground looking for his lost gun. Seeing the scroll that fell out of his pocket, Nora picked it up. With her hammer resting on her right shoulder, she used her free hand to use the scroll.

"Hya, police? Looks like some really bad drivers got into a little bitty accident over here."

As Nora informed the dispatcher on the other end of her location, the man in front of her rose to his feet having found his weapon.

"Oh and one of them looks to have a bit of a boo boo on his head." In a swift motion, Nora tossed the scroll into the air, grabbed her hammer with both hands, and swung it into the man's head. She released her left hand from the hammer and caught the scroll with it.

"Oh don't worry, I'll take good care of him. Take your time."

Blake watched in amusement as Nora bent over and placed the scroll into it's owner's hand and politely thanked him for letting her borrow his scroll.

Blake looked back to Jaune and said, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we got a call."

"From who?"

Before Jaune could speak, her answer came to them. Over where the tail car crashed, Ren was dodging gunfire from detective Oak who stood in the center of the street firing a large rifle. He failed to notice the fast approaching motorcycle coming up behind him. That was until Yang's fist made contact with the back of his head, launching him down the road.

Seeing a woman pull herself out of one of the wrecks gun drawn and pointing in Blake's direction, Weiss leaped to a standing position on the motorcycle, drew her rapier and rocketed toward the attacker. The woman turned around just in time to see the white haired fencer coming at her from above. Weiss's blade landed squarely on her chest, slamming her into the pavement and sending her skipping across the highway.

Yang pulled to a stop beside Blake. Surprised was one way to put the faunus's reaction. She did not expect to see those two coming to her rescue.

"Um, hey." Yang said nervously after she dismounted her motorcycle.

"Hey. Why are you here?" Blake responded sheepishly while staring at her shoes.

"Blake, look I know you did what did to save Weiss. I understand that. Really I do." Yang paused, trying to find the right words. She reached out and rested a friendly hand on Blake's shoulder and met her gaze with a warm smile. "You're my partner and my friend. Why wouldn't I be here for you?"

"Guys?" Jaune called to them while behind him Pyrrha's shield plowed through three men. "I think we should go. The cops will be here soon."

"Good point." Said Yang. "By the way, this plan, who's idea was it?"

"Well, um...It was mine." Jaune replied nervously.

"Not bad Jaune. Not bad at all." Yang said as she gave him a thumbs up.

* * *

"Why!" Ruby cried out angrily as she cleaved her table in two with her scythe. News of Oak's interception on his way to deliver Blake to her had reached Ruby. '_How could she help her? Yang knows what they did to me. Why would she help them?' _A distressed Ruby continued her assault on her bedroom. '_How could she do this to me? Yang's helping them, she's with them. She's...She's helping them.' _A realization struck Ruby as she destroyed her bookshelf. '_She must have known.'_

'_All along, she must have known what they were planning.'_

'_Why Yang? Why? Why did you do this to me?'_

Ruby collapsed into the carpet, embedding Crescent Rose into the floor. She clutched her head as an anger like she never felt before consumed her. Everyone was abandoning her. Even Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren abandoned and betrayed her. The only ones who stuck by her were Shara and Kaana. Her only true friends.

Slamming her fists into the floor, Ruby made a promise that all of them needed to die. All of them needed pain.

* * *

In JNPR's room the two teams sat together on the middle two beds facing the open area between them. Weiss and Blake on one bed, JNPR and Yang on the other. The pair had just finished recounting everything that happened recently; there was no need for secrets any more.

Jaune finally broke the silence. "So Blake, you made up that story to protect Weiss?" Blake simply nodded and looked at the floor. "And you Weiss, you went along with it because you were scared and all around ashamed?"

"I...I guess you could say that."

"Okay then."

"What?" The pair said in unison.

Jaune stood up and continued. "We've all kept secrets from each other. Some more serious than others. But we're friends, and friends are supposed to be there for each other. You should have just come clean with us. We would have helped you and we could have avoided this whole mess."

Both Blake and Weiss were shocked by their friends' displays. Never having had any real close friends before, it never occurred to them that even after all they had done, all the time they lied, they would be met by these smiling faces. Weiss and Blake found themselves tearing up again, as much as Weiss tried to hide it.

"Are we friends again?" Came from an excited Nora.

"Yes Nora, we are." Ren replied matter of factly.

"Yay!" She screamed as she leaped the zone between them and crashed into Weiss and Blake, hugging them.

"So," Jaune said, unsure as to what to say. "What do we do now?"

"Now we find the ones who have been terrorizing my team and we teach them a thing or two." Yang slammed her fist into an open palm for effect.

"How do we do that?" Replied Pyrrha quizzically.

"I actually have an idea on that." Said Yang as she stood up. Blake and Weiss finally broke Nora's hug as they listened to the blonde speak. "So from talking with Junior I know that this 'new muscle' as he put it, is rumored to be responsible for the local thefts of military hardware."

"And how does that help us?" Said Weiss.

"Listen. That's not all I found out. While you two have been all mopy I learned that a train is coming into Vale tomorrow carrying a whole shipment of robots and guns."

"So we go to the trainyard and stake it out waiting for the thieves." Jaune said enthusiastically.

"Exactly!" Exclaimed Yang as she pointed towards Jaune.

"That's not going to work." The faunus interjected.

"What do you mean?" Questioned Yang.

"I mean that the trainyard has too much security and too many witnesses. If you want to steal from a train, its much easier to do it while its on the move."

"How do you know so much about robbing trains." Weiss said in an accusatory tone. "Just, never mind." She said throwing her hand up to stop Blake's explanation.

Jaune addressed the group. "We take Blake's advice and watch the train while its in motion. Hop on before they're likely to strike and wait for them."

"Seven people will be too much for a job like this. On a tight space like a moving train, numbers are not an advantage." Said Blake.

"So we send one team than." Said Jaune.

"We'll go." Interjected Yang. "We, we need to do this. Together."

Jaune nodded. "Okay. We'll give you any help you need."

* * *

The next day Weiss, Blake, and Yang found themselves in a thicket at the top of a large sloping hill, at the bottom of which lay a line of train tracks. Blake looked to her companions and said, "Its time." Traveling at great speed down the tracks came their train. A seemingly endless freight train pulled by a large black engine.

The three girls rushed down the hill and leaped onto the passing train. Blake used her sword to pin herself to the roof of a car while Weiss used a series of glyphs to gain enough speed to nimbly touch down on a different roof. Yang on the other hand used her gauntlets to leap to a roof, but not with enough speed to avoid being tossed along the cars until Weiss could use a glyph to stop her.

After meeting up, the trio made their way forward along the train looking for shipment. They came to a stop atop a car. Ahead of them lay an empty flatbed car and in front of that, one that carried two shipping containers. The one on top was red with the white logo of Atlas.

"Looks like our weapons container." Stated Blake.

"We should hide until they come for it." Said Weiss.

"I agree. In the car I guess?" Said Yang.

* * *

"I'm Weiss, I'm rich and fancy, and I wear heels in battle to compensate for my vertically challenged nature." Yang animated her Weiss impression on a doll she found in the shipping container.

"Would you please put that back where you found it?" Weiss snarked.

"But I'm bored. We've been here for over an hour and nothing is happening."

"Just do something that doesn't annoy me."

"You're no fun." Yang said as she stuffed the doll haphazardly into the box where she found it. Weiss watched as Yang stood up and straightened the red cloak she always wore these days. She figured that Ruby's cloak had become part of Yang's standard attire now. Yang approached Blake who was standing looking out the window on the door.

"Kitty see anything yet?"

Blake rolled her eyes at her partner. "No."

Yang merely shrugged.

"Wait."

As the train passed over a bridge across a wide crevasse Blake saw something that gave her pause. A silver tilt engine aircraft rose out of the canyon, its engines rotated so it could keep pace with the racing train.

"Bullhead inbound!" Blake yelled to her teammates.

The three teammates readied themselves by the door to watch the incoming thieves. The Bullhead flew so it hovered over the Atlas container as it's side doors opened. Two ropes unfurled from each open door and two men in black helmets and armor slid down each of the ropes.

"Let's see if we can't draw out their leader shall we." Yang said playfully as she made her way to a hatch in the roof of the car. "Blake, Weiss, draw them off the container."

"Gotcha." Replied Weiss as she opened the door and jumped out onto the flatbed. Blake immediately followed Weiss as she used her weapon's gun form to fire three shots at the men currently working to attach the ropes to the container.

Seeing the attack, a figure in a black hood jumped from the bullhead and landed on the container.

"Showtime." Yang said to herself as she readied for the attack. She watched as the figure gestured to her men and then to Blake and Weiss, telling them some kind of strategy from what Yang could deduce. Four of the thieved jumped to the flatbed to engage their attackers. Seeing her opportunity, Yang used her gauntlets to launch herself from the roof of the car and across the flatbed. As she landed on the container her fist came into contact with one of the men, sending him flying across it.

She stood up to face her target. The one who brutally attacked Blake. Yang stood in yellow armor with the red hood blowing behind her like a cape. Facing her stood the woman in black, hood covering her face, cloak billowing around her. Yang stared at her target, waiting for her to make her move. The girl in black lifted her gaze to meet Yang's and pushed the hood off her face.

Lilac eyes met silver in a cold silence.

"R...Ru...Ruby?"

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**

**Things are going to be wrapping up soon here. Stay tuned.**

**Thank you for reading and feel free to post a review.  
**


	12. The Encounter

"R...Ruby?"

Yang was stunned, her sister, her lost baby sister, standing there, alive. Before Yang could react, Ruby reached back and swung her weapon in it's gun form into Yang's chest. Yang was nearly thrown off the shipping container were it not for a lightning fast reaction to grab the edge. There she hung, the ground rushing by in the space between the cars. She looked up to see her sister standing over her. Those silver eyes stared down at Yang. In her eyes was something Yang never saw before in those silver orbs, malice, pure unmitigated hatred. Ruby unfurled Crescent Rose into it's scythe form and swung it at the dangling Yang. Seeing the attack coming, Yang expertly lifted her legs up and kicked off the shipping container, narrowly avoiding the loss of her hands.

Yang landed on the flatbed in a backwards somersault, coming to rest next to Weiss. The white fencer nimbly parried an attacker's sword blow. Striking him in the chest, she launched him into an awaiting Blake, whose sword collided with his head, rendering the attacker unconscious.

"Guys!" Yang said, directing her team's attention to Ruby. Weiss and Blake stood frozen, unable to fully comprehend the sight before them. Seeing their leader about to enter the fray, the thieves began to beat a retreat. Ruby fired her weapon behind her, using it's momentum to initiate her attack.

The scythe wielder swung her weapon down on Yang as she landed on the flatbed. Yang crossed her gauntlets in front of her, blocking the attack. Shooting sideways, Ruby took advantage of Blake's stunned state, swinging her scythe at head level. Using a shadow clone to take the hit, the faunus leaped skyward, landing behind Ruby.

"Ruby wait!" Yang called to her sister. Too late, as the range filled girl already used her speed to get behind Weiss swinging at her back. Weiss barely managed to spin around in time to block the blow with her sword. Unfortunately the force of the blow knocked her onto the floor. Ruby fired her weapon at her two standing targets, causing them to dive for cover. This gave Ruby the distraction she needed to fire Crescent Rose into Weiss's stomach, giving the scythe wielder enough momentum to skyrocket into the air. At the top of her trajectory, Ruby fired skyward, sending her whirling downward into Weiss, slaming into her with the blunt end of the scythe in a crunching blow.

"Weiss!" Yang cried out as she rushed to her aid. Seeing her coming, Ruby used her speed to close the distance between her and her sister. Spinning her scythe, Ruby struck Yang's legs, tripping her. Continuing the spin as she moved past Yang, Ruby spun around before using the scythe's momentum to strike at Blake. Blake used her swords to block the strike, only for Ruby to spin around once more, firing the rifle at Blake's head. Using her shadow clone to launch sideways, Blake narrowly avoided the hit. As she landed back on the flatbed, Ruby was waiting for her, successfully landing a blow on her elusive target. Blake was forced to use her shadow clone to prevent herself from being launched off the moving train. Once again however, Ruby was there to hit her again. Blake knew of only one person fast enough to counter her shadow clone semblance, and she was fighting her.

While Ruby was distracted, Yang knelt down next to Weiss, her injured teammate was not moving. Yang checked her scroll, Weiss's aura was almost completely depleted and Blake's was dropping fast.

"Weiss, can you hear me?" Yang said to the girl as she reached out to check where she was hit. Touching her stomach prompted a scream of pain from the injured girl. A small cough followed as Weiss finished her scream, a stream of crimson leaving her mouth when she did.

Yang knew this was bad, Weiss needed to get out of here and fast. Glancing up to check the status of the fight showed Blake and Ruby were still swinging and slashing at each other. Blake even managed to get in a few hits during the melee. Suddenly Yang heard the bullhead's engines revving louder than before. She could see the aircraft taking off, the shipping container successfully attached while they were distracted. Seeing this, Ruby broke off her attack on Blake and fired her weapon launching her at the container. Successfully using her scythe to grab the container, Ruby pulled herself on top of it before disappearing inside the aircraft.

As the bullhead flew off Blake rushed to where Weiss lay. Yang turned to her and spoke with concern in her voice.

"Its bad Blake. We need to get her off this thing."

Behind Blake, Yang could see the bullhead coming back around.

"Blake!"

Yang quickly scooped up Weiss as the bullhead's autocannon began to fire, cutting across where the group once was. The stream of lead continued it's path of destruction up the train through the shipping containers.

"Yang!" Blake yelled, motioning for them to jump. The bullhead's attack struck a shipment of dust, resulting in an explosion destroying several cars. The train cars running into the wreckage began to derail one after the other. Thousands of tons of steel crashing together with immense force and speed. Blake launched herself from the train and began to run away from the growing pile of twisted metal. Many cars were accordioning together, others tumbling and flipping down the track. Holding Weiss in her arms, Yang ran along the flatbed. The flatbed lurched as it struck the pile, sending the back end into the air. Yang raced off the end like a ramp. As she was airborne a spinning car entered her path. Yang quickly twisted her body around to take the impact with her back, shielding Weiss.

Crashing through the other side of the oncoming car, Yang landed on her back, skitting along the ground. Still in danger, Yang used her momentum to regain her footing and run from the destruction. With one arm supporting Weiss, Yang used the gauntlet in the other to gain speed.

Yang finally stopped running when she felt she and Weiss were safe. Looking back Yang could see the crash continuing. Miles of train had yet to come to a stop. Scanning the area she was grateful to see Blake sprinting toward her. At least she was safe.

* * *

Blake sat with JNPR in their dorm crowded around Jaune's scroll watching news on the train derailment. So far the cause had yet to be determined and with the engine so far ahead of the initial explosion, only injuries were reported thus far. Yang slowly entered the room having already dropped Weiss off at the medical wing. She collapsed face down on Nora's bed, exhausted from the day's mission.

"How's she doing?" Asked a concerned Blake.

Yang rolled her head to look at Blake. "Not good. Internal bleeding, several crushed bones. Among other things. I told them it was an Ursa attack while training.

Jaune shut off the scroll and set it down before looking up and saying with disbelief. "So, Ruby."

"Ya, Ruby." Pyrrha responded, equally in disbelief.

Ren stood up and began to pace. "So she's alive and she just attacked you?"

"Pretty much." Replied Yang as she sat up on the bed. "That look in her eyes. I've never seen her with so much... So much hate before. Its like she wasn't even there."

"Maybe its not her? Or maybe she has amnesia and she didn't recognize you guys, and that's why she attacked you?" Jaune said hopefully.

"No. It was definitely her." Said Blake, sadness creeping into her voice. "The way she looked at us, she knew exactly who we were."

"This doesn't make any sense." Jaune started. "This is Ruby we're talking about. Sweet innocent Ruby. Even if she was upset about the accident, she wouldn't try to kill you guys. Right?"

Jaune looked around the room. The faces in it were as confused by Ruby's actions as he was.

"But I think we're all forgetting the most important part of all this." Pyrrha started. "Ruby's alive."

"Ya!" Glee filled Yang's face as she spoke, her excitement growing as the realization finally started to sink in. "She's alive! Ruby's alive!"

* * *

"This is insane!" Shara screamed as she burst into Kaana's office. "Your little project just caused one of the largest train derailment in decades!"

"You think I don't know that!" The woman in green snapped. "Brontana is going to find us out any day now. So excuse me if I have a lot to deal with right now."

"Look girl," Shara said trying to calm her boss down. "I know I told you to focus on the side business. But right now Ruby is out of control and spiraling her way to a full blown break-down. You need to do something about her before she does something worse, wait, I can't think of anything worse than millions of liens of damages and crippling the most important train line in the kingdom." She said matter of factly.

Kaana paused, looking at the newscast on her scroll. "Just let me think of something. I'll find a way to solve these problems. Just give me time."

* * *

"So Pyrrha, why did you want me here?" Yang asked as she and Pyrrha stood in one of Beacon's sparing rooms in their full combat gear. Earlier that day the red haired warrior insisted Yang spar with her.

"I just wanted to practice. Come on, get ready."

Yang wasn't convinced, but she was never one to give up on a challenge.

The two gold fighters stood facing each other, Yang with her gauntlets deployed in her boxing stance and Pyrrha crouching slightly with her spear drawn and shield on one arm ready to block any attacks.

Yang charged forward swinging right fist. Pyrrha blocked with her shield then jabbed with the spear, which Yang quickly countered with her left gauntlet. Dropping low, Pyrrha swung out her right leg, tripping her opponent. Yang recovered quickly by shooting her gauntlets at Pyrrha to launch herself away from her attacker while getting back on her feet.

"By the way Yang," Pyrrha started as she readied herself for another attack. "Why haven't you visited Weiss in the hospital? Its been almost two days."

Yang charged forward throwing her fists at Pyrrha, who deflected with her weapons.

"She's going to be okay, her aura's healing her, and don't forget that I dropped her off at the hospital." Yang responded

Pyrrha's spear swung low, Yang blocked with her gauntlet before the shield crashed into her chest, knocking her back.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

Yang fired her gauntlets at Pyrrha who rushed forward, leaping over the explosions and bringing a foot down on Yang, knocking her back again. The shield collided with both of Yang's gauntlets as the brawler blocked Pyrrha's followup attack.

"Look Pyrrha, I don't know what you're getting at. If you haven't noticed I've been rather busy lately. Ya know with tracking Ruby and all."

The duo clashed in a series of blows before separating once again.

"No you haven't. You've had the name of someone who may know both where Ruby is and what's going on, yet you've done nothing. Why?" Pyrrha questioned

Yang yelled out as she rushed at Pyrrha, again firing her gauntlets. Pyrrha jumped backward, dodging the shots.

"I'm not just going to walk up to her front door and ask if she's seen Ruby."

"And why not? The Yang I know wouldn't think twice about busting down the front door and beating heads until she got the answers she wanted. So again, why haven't you?"

Yang charged again, only for Pyrrha to hurl her shield at the girl, smashing into her stomach. After the shield returned to Pyrrha's hand the two engaged another series of attacks. Landing a kick square to Yang's stomach, Pyrrha backed up, readying for another attack as Yang yelled out.

"I'm getting ready! I'm preparing my next move."

"You're delaying!" Pyrrha yelled back as the two began to circle each other. "You don't want to go after that person."

"Really oh wise miss Nikos. Why would I be purposely delaying the search for my sister?" Anger and frustration dripped from Yang's voice as she spoke.

"The same reason you refuse to visit Weiss in the hospital."

Yang dashed forward launching a fierce volley of blows. Blocking one of the blows, Pyrrha leaped over the blonde before turning to face her.

"Weiss nearly killed my little sister, sorry if I don't feel like comforting her while she's in the hospital."

"Really? When you thought Weiss killed your sister, why didn't you kill her the instant you learned what really happened in those woods? Instead you rush to her aid the moment you think she is in danger. Let's not forget, this is the girl who stabbed your little sister in the chest."

Yang screamed out before charging at the red head, swinging wildly. However, Yang's fists met only air before Pyrrha's shield collided with the side of her head. Pyrrha backed up before continuing.

"What about Blake? She fully admitted to leaving your little sister behind that day. Sure she may have twisted the details around a bit, but she still admitted to it. Yet there you were, by her side in the hospital. Not once but twice. So again I ask, why?"

Yang let out a groan of frustration before yelling back at Pyrrha. "What are you trying to say? Just spit it out already!"

"When you found those pictures, the ones you showed me, you didn't yell or scream, you didn't bash Weiss and Blake's brains in. You just left the room and went for a walk. Let me tell you why. There was not a single moment when you blamed them for what happened."

Unleashing a primeval yell, Yang charged once again at Pyrrha, only to have her wild attack end with her opponent behind her pulling the spear across her neck. Yang tried ineffectually to pull the golden spear away.

"These were the bitches who hurt Ruby! Of course it was their fault."

"You're not acting like it. If you really blamed them, why did you rush to save Weiss? Why did you save Blake? Why did you stay by her bedside instead of hunting down the person who attacked your partner?" Pyrrha asked calmly.

"Because I should have been there!" Yang yelled. "I should have been there to protect her, but I wasn't and now look what happened. It was my fault. If I had just gone with them none of this would have happened. Ruby, Blake, I wasn't there for them and… and just look what happened to them. Even when I'm there…" Yang paused for a moment. "Even when I'm there, I can't protect the ones I care about."

"Yang, its not your fault. None of it is." Pyrrha said releasing Yang who proceeded to drop to her hands and knees. "It was a horrible accident what happened to Ruby and no one could have predicted what happened to Blake."

Yang dropped her head low and pounded her fist into the floor. "But it was my fault. I'm not there and she dies. It wasn't supposed to happen again."

"What are you talking about Yang?" Said Pyrrha as she circled around to face Yang.

Tears in her eyes, Yang looked up at Pyrrha. "When we were kids I nearly got Ruby killed. I was a stupid child who was obsessed with finding the truth about my mother and I dragged Ruby along. I didn't even think that bringing a toddler along with me might be dangerous. But there we were, almost shredded by beowolves. All because I put her in danger and couldn't protect her." Yang slammed her fist into the floor again. "I used to think that maybe If I had just been there, Ruby would be okay. But even when I am there, I can't even protect the ones that matter most. Remember the deathstalker during initiation? I was right there and nearly let Ruby die. If it weren't for Weiss, Ruby would already be dead. Then on the train. Ruby was right in front of me, I tried to stop her, to help her. I tried to protect Weiss. But I failed. All this power, all this training, and I'm useless to protect the people I care about. I'm weak"

Pyrrha reached out and put her hand on the crying girl's shoulder. "You're not weak. You're one of the strongest people I know, and I'm not just talking about your muscles. None of this is your fault and you haven't failed anyone. People get hurt, but you can't let that destroy you. If you keep this up, what's going to happen to Ruby?"

"I don't know." Yang said, fully in tears now. "If I can't even be there for my little sister when she needs me the most what am I good for? I'm just a stupid adrenaline junky too focused on finding adventure and not enough on what really matters. When I saw Blake and Weiss in that hospital, I just… That was the first time I ever felt inadequate, truly useless when it mattered. I haven't been able to make so much as a spark since that day and I don't know why. Even if I did help, I wouldn't be able too."

Pyrra sat down in front of Yang. "You're not meant to care for everyone by by yourself. We're all in teams for a reason and we're here to help you, all you have to do is ask. And I mean with more than daring high speed rescues.

Yang could not help but smirk at Pyrrha's attempt at humor.

"Yang, none of this is your fault." Pyrrha continued to comfort Yang. "You are strong and caring. Don't let this stop you from helping the people you love. You're more than just your semblance, you have heart. You don't need fire to protect people. Just be who you are, a strong warrior and a good person."

* * *

Ruby stood back and scrutinized her handiwork. It may have been a warm and sunny day out, but she would much rather spend it inside solving a new challenge, repairing the damage inflicted in her latest outburst. A jury rigged assortment of random materials she liberated from around the mansion now held up her desk. Gleaming steel pipes and dark grained wood came together to form the desk's new framework. She wondered if she went a little overboard on this repair, considering the desk now looked one modification away from being the next Crescent Rose.

Proud of her work, Ruby felt it was time for a break. Humming her favorite song, the girl in the black hood gleefully skipped along, out her room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. She opened up the fridge and retrieved the ingredients for her sandwich. Building always made Ruby hungry. As far as she was concerned, every workshop should come with a kitchen. That way the snacks would be right there. Maybe she would ask Ozpin about including that in the school's workshops when she got back to Beacon.

Sandwich in hand, Ruby made her way out of the kitchen and back up the stairs to the second floor of the mansion. Thinking she heard movement, Ruby wondered if Kaana and Shara had come home early. The pair had to run to town for a reason they could not say. Entering her room Ruby was instantly grabbed and pulled into someone's arms, a white cloth placed over her mouth. Three men in blue and black suits stood in front of her, cleavers and pistols drawn. Ruby tried not to breath as she thrashed wildly. Swinging her head back with all her strength, it collided with her attacker's nose, crushing it. As he screamed in pain, his grip on Ruby loosened, allowing her to dash out of her room and away from the hail of gunfire that followed her.

Relief filled Ruby when at the end of the hallway stood Shara. Her friend, clad in matching green and black pants and jacket, waited silently. Stepping next to her were two more of Ruby's attackers.

"Shara watch out!" Ruby yelled in a panic, trying to warn her friend of the impending danger.

Shara merely smirked. Her suit glowing, she threw out her arm. Three glowing yellow balls of light shot from her hand, down the hall at Ruby. Dropping to the floor, Shara's attack barely passed over Ruby's head. The three balls struck the opposite end of the hallway, exploding into a storm of lightning.

Ruby knew she had to get out of this corridor, this place was too tight to unleash Crescent Rose. Using her speed, she raced toward Shara and dashed along the wall to get over her head and land behind her in the mansion's atrium style entrance way. Wall on one side, railing on the other, Ruby found herself where she could unleash her sweetheart. Dashing to her right, Ruby unfurled her scythe. Shara launched another volley at Ruby who spun her weapon in front of her like a fan to block the attack. The balls exploded on the scythe, a storm of electricity enveloped Ruby. She let out a cry of pain as the energy burned all over her body.

As soon as the storm cleared, Ruby sprinted away from Shara. Seeing her only option, she took it. Ruby crashed through a window at the front of the room. As she fell onto the roof above the front door Ruby saw several black SUVs and more men in blue and black outside. Among them was Brontana and Kaana, calming discussing the day's events.

Little did Ruby know, Kaana had found a way to rid herself of both her problems, one of those being Ruby.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I was wondering, I've been trying to subtly hint at what's going on for a while now and I'm curious how I'm doing. Dropping hints in a story is not something I've ever done before so I was wondering if I've been beating you guys over the head with it or if you guys haven't even noticed the hints I've been trying to leave.**

**As always I love to see new reviews and follows come in. So feel free to review and thanks for reading.  
**

**Edit: Ok, so I need to learn to be less subtle and cryptic. I was afraid of making my attempts at clues to what's going on in the background too obvious. Still learning. Hint, it involves the pet name "Little One."  
**


	13. Alone in the Dark

She ran. She ran so far and so fast. She ran until her legs collapsed under her exhausted frame. For the first time in the young girl's life, she was truly alone. Everyone who claimed to care for her, had abandoned or betrayed her. Her friends, her sister, Kaana, all wanted to have her killed. Everything Ruby worked so hard for, destroyed.

Night had fallen by the time Ruby awoke in the dingy alley. Beside her, a foul smelling dumpster that reeked in ways Ruby could not describe. Rising around her were two brick buildings, the sounds of cars passed in the distance. Ruby sat against the rough building's face, her head pounding and heart racing. She began tearing at the front of her hair and threw her head back into the wall behind her. The girl in the hood let out a primal wail, not out of physical pain, but of something much more agonizing.

No matter how many times the memories of that day replayed in her mind. Part of her refused to accept Kaana as capable of that betrayal, even though Ruby knew there was no denying what that woman did. She felt like part of her mind was incapable of maintaining even the thought that Kaana was anything other than her closest, kindest friend, as if tiny voices were whispering in her head, telling her that Kaana is her friend and would never hurt her, while the rest of her brain wanted nothing more than to tear the traitorous woman asunder. These two parts warred in Ruby's mind for supremacy.

Everything was crushing in around her, behind every shadow, a sinister force. Heart racing, all Ruby's instincts told her to hide, to cower, to run away and never stop moving. She recoiled against the wall, desperately trying to hide away from the world that sought to consume her.

"Excuse me, miss, are you alright?" Ruby did not know how long she had been sitting there, repeatedly pounding the back of her head into the wall, but the male voice snapped her back to reality and the dull pain in her head that accompanied it.

"Miss?" Her silver eyes peered upward at the considered looking man. He wore a brown jacket and jeans. In that instant, something snapped in Ruby's mind. Her hand reached back, and in a fluid movement, the scythe swung at the man's legs sending him crashing into the pavement. She shot to her feet and brought the hammer like end of her weapon down on his chest. Again and again, metal crashed into flesh, the man's cries drowned out by his attacker's. In that moment, Ruby's conflictions grew silent, her troubles swept away, replaced by serenity.

Ruby looked at the broken body before her, his breathing labored, but alive. Scared by her own uncontrolled outburst Ruby continued to stare at her handiwork. Ruby had no idea what came over her or why she attacked this innocent stranger. From this however, she now knew what she needed to do, how to silence conflict in her mind. Weiss and Blake needed to die. No more games. No more waiting. Those two started all of this. Everything that happened was their fault. All the confusion on in head, Yang wanting to hurt her, all of it, their doing. Ruby knew that if it were not for them she would still have her sister and Beacon. The only way to fix everything was to destroy those two.

Ruby exited a nearby dust shop just before it's closing with a shopping bag full of ammo for Crescent Rose. She used the cash from the man in the alley's wallet to fund her resupply mission. The cold streets of Vale were deserted at this time of night, few shops stayed open this late. Walking along the abandoned streets Ruby soon felt that day's exhaustion sink it's hooks into her, desperately trying to pull her into a much needed sleep. The young huntress knew she must avoid sleep at all costs, lest the nightmares return. Warding off slumber was a necessity for her; every time she closed her eyes it seemed, visions of monsters and darkness invaded from her subconscious.

At the end of the street stood what Ruby so desperately needed, a pharmacy, closed for the night, a perfect place to restock the stimulants Ruby left behind.

* * *

Inside her second floor office, Kaana lounged on her deep orange couch enjoying a cold glass of her favorite drink. This day was finally done, and the woman in green performed her ritual of relaxation. It had been a rough day for her, but a rewarding one at that. Sure her side business had officially been abandoned, but as far as her superiors were concerned the organizer of that operation was in the wind and would soon be disposed of. Not that Kaana did not find what had to take place regrettable, she was a nice kid after all, but miss Rose's rapidly deteriorating mental state meant she was becoming a danger to everyone around her and therefore something had to be done. It was only by a stroke of luck and, as Kaana was sure, her brilliant way of finding a bright side to every dark state, that lead to these situations solving each other. Kaana took another sip from her glass, finally time to decompress from that day.

Or so she thought. Kaana was jostled back to reality by the sounds of explosions and gunfire on the floor below. She was suddenly thankful Brontana's men insisted on hanging around incase miss Rose came back. Whether or not her ex employee had indeed returned was not something Kaana could assess at the moment. She leaped from her couch and rushed to her desk at the back of the room. Slamming her palm on a button beneath her desk she activated her emergency protocols. Doing so resulted in the double doors into the room slamming shut, powerful locks rang out as they engaged. Behind her metal shutters blocked out the windows. Now she was safe; those doors may look like decorative wood, but infact they could stop most explosives.

The carnage continued outside, the sounds getting louder as the fighting reached her doors. Loud bangs were heard as someone on the opposite side attempted to get passed her impenetrable doors. Kaana calmly approached the doors, retrieving her drink from the table adjacent to the couch. She was never one to let something as inconsiderate as an attempt on her life stop her from enjoying a good drink.

Kaana savored her victory. Soon the silent alarm that was triggered with the emergency protocols would be bringing the police here in short order, even criminals see the value in calling the cops when a crime is in progress. So in the mean time she simply sipped her drink. No one was getting to her.

It seemed the universe loved to prove her wrong that day. Just as she was starting to enjoy her victory she heard an immense explosion behind her and was showered with splinters of wood. In that moment Kaana realized something important, while the walls around the room may be re enforced, the flooring on the level above her, not so much.

Before Kaana stood a young woman dressed in yellow with a bright blonde mane. The woman pointed her smoking gauntlets at Kaana and spoke.

"Kaana Book I presume? I have a couple questions for you."

* * *

The pharmacy's back door was surprisingly easy for Ruby to open. Simple deadbolts are not something that would normally stand up to Crescent Rose. Once inside, Ruby made her way to where the medications were kept. Again, her scythe made short work of the door separating her from her goal. She scoured the shelves for what would keep her awake. The nightmares always came and this was the only thing that kept them at bay.

Eventually Ruby found what she wanted, even taking a bottle of cold water to wash it down. It was however when she spotted a small group watching her that her panic returned. Dread washed over her like an icy wave. Before her were four people who wanted to hurt her. Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren. JNPR found her.

Ruby could not let them hurt her. She raced away as fast as she could into a nearby building. Up the stairs and into a room that looked empty. Ruby's legs finally gave out inside that apartment, the growing sense of impending doom had taken it's toll. She huddled in the corner of the dark room, rocking back and forth, unable to make herself do anything else. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweating, she wanted nothing more than to hide away from everything that wanted to hurt her.

'_They're coming for me! I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. Someone help me. Someone help me please. I need to run. I need to hide. If I hide here maybe they won't find me. What do I do. What do I do. What do I...'_

"Ruby?" Jaune's soft voice cut through the haze of Ruby's panic. Glancing up from her huddled state, she could see Jaune crouched to Ruby's level just inside the open doorway. "Hey there Ruby. Are you okay?" He said before slowly moving towards the obviously frightened girl. Ruby saw the rest of his team were staying outside the doorway. She knew they were waiting for their moment to strike.

Jaune reached out his hand as he approached. "What are you doing here all alone in the dark? Why don't you take my hand and we can go back to Beacon."

As he took another step Ruby recoiled in fear, trying to shift away from Jaune. Jaune put his hands up in a calming gesture when he saw this. "Hey, hey, hey. Its okay Ruby. Its me Jaune. I'm not going to hurt you. We're here to help you."

'_They're going to hurt me. They're going to hurt me. What am I going to do? What am I going to do? What am I going to do? What am I going to do?' _Ruby's thoughts raced through her mind, stuck in a loop of intensing panic.

She needed to escape, hide, runaway, anything to get away from this. Ruby was not sure what happened next. One second Jaune is trying to scoot closer to her again and the next he is flying across the apartment and Crescent Rose is extended in her hands.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled as she ran to his side with Ren close behind. Nora rushed over to Ruby her hammer drawn. The scythe swung down in arc at Nora, who proceed to block the blow with her weapon. Nora swung her hammer at Ruby, only to hit air as her target dodged the blow.

* * *

Kaana dove out of way of Yang's shot. Yang spun around to swing her arm out at the woman in green. The sly woman used a pair of brass knuckle like devices as her weapons. Kaana backed up and readied herself in a boxing stance. Yang readied herself in response, she knew no one was better than her in a fist fight.

Yang's opponent stepped forward, swinging her arm out in a wide right hook. The blonde brawler almost felt sorry for someone who telegraphed their attacks so much. Yang brought her arms up to block the incoming attack.

'_Block high!' _

'_Huh?' _ Yang threw her arm up on instinct, allowing Kaana's blow to strike her in her side. A powerful electric shock coursed through her abdomen only for a second one to hit her in her stomach.

Yang stumbled backward unsure as to what just happened. She did not know why she suddenly put her arm up to block higher than she needed. Kaana moved forward, unwilling to let Yang rest. She pulled her arms back ready to strike again.

'_Left hook!''_

Again Yang shot her arm up only for a series of electrically powered jabs to hit her in the chest. Yang closed her eyes and tried to concentrate.

'_That bitch is in my head. Okay, Yang you gotta not let her mess with you. Come on this is for Ruby. You can't let this woman beat you. This. Is. For. Ruby!'_

Yang's eyes shot open, red as blood, a blast of fire erupting around her.

'_Hello old friend, its been too long. Time to get this party started.'_

Operating on the instinct of a huntress she launched forward with a string of powerful hits smashing into Kaana. Her target was flung backwards into the wall, the impact creating massive cracks in it's surface. Yang leaned over and picked Kaana up by the collar. Her fiery red eyes stared down at the object of her hatred. Yang reared her arm back ready to deliver another blow.

"Now, you're going to tell me everything you did to my baby sister. But please, take your time."

Yang's fist swung downward.

* * *

The pair clashed, but Ruby's speed won out over Nora's brute strength. Ruby landed several powerful hits on the orange haired girl, all the while using her speed to avoid being hit herself. This was not training, Ruby was not holding back. She needed to stop them. Ruby needed to protect herself. To do that, she needed to kill.

With a mighty swing landing on her chest, Nora collapsed onto the floor, aura depleted. Her breathing heavy, Ruby stood over the girl she once called friend, scythe raised high. She was not sure why she was hesitating. She knew this girl wanted to hurt her, but part of her still saw her friend laying before her.

"Nora!" Ren shouted as he rushed from Jaune's side. Seeing this snapped ruby out of her train of thought and she swung her scythe at Nora's neck.

The clang of metal on metal rang out as Ruby's scythe collided with Ren's pistols. He had dove to protect his friend from Ruby's finishing blow. Ren shoved back against the scythe, giving him room to swing the pair of weapons at Ruby. She dodged and speed back to where Jaune was now standing back up. Ruby ducked under Pyrrha's thrown shield as she pulled Crescent Rose up and swung it at Jaune. He quickly managed to pull his shield up in time to block the blade, but a shot fired by Ruby gave the scythe enough momentum to send Jaune sailing out the window behind him.

Seeing a clear path to the window at the opposite end of the apartment, Ruby sped past Pyrrha and Ren, the force from her speed carrying them and most of the furniture along with her. Ruby dove headlong out the second story window, while Ren and Pyrrha crashed into the adjacent wall followed by the high speed furniture.

Ruby sped off into night. Running to hide anywhere she could.

* * *

Once again the team JNPR, Blake, and Yang sat around JNPR's dorm, as both groups had just returned from their missions. Earlier that night Blake and Yang set out to get answers from the person Junior told them about and JNPR went to check out the local dust shops in the hope that their lost friend would visit her favorite stores.

Blake and Yang returned just after Jaune's team, having been forced to beat a hasty retreat when the police arrived at their break-in. Yang had been surprisingly silent during their journey back to Beacon. The faunus girl wasn't sure what, if anything, Yang learned from her interrogation.

"Well," Jaune started, breaking the silence that permeated the room. "Meeting here is starting to become a regular event for us."

Nora excitedly sat up, against Ren's attempts to force her to stay in bed. "Its like a club! Ooo, we could get T-shirts, and have a secret password, and code names!"

"Nora." Ren spoke with a touch of sadness in his voice. "Not the time."

"I know what happened to Ruby!" Yang blurted out. Her statement grabbed the other five people's attention.

"Yang?" Her concerned teammate said, hearing distress in Yang's face.

"She... She did things to her. To Ruby." Yang started to speak. Her voice held a mix of anger and sadness. "After they saved Ruby from the beowolves, they took her to a hospital. That woman, Kaana Book, her semblance is Influence. She used it on me when we fought, throwing off my defences." Yang dropped her gaze to the floor. "She used it on Ruby, made her think everyone wanted to kill her."

Everyone in the room sat in silence, trying to comprehend what was just said. Finally, Pyrrha spoke up.

"But Influence doesn't work that way. You're proof of that. Sure it can mess with a fighter in the heat of combat, but a person can easily detect what's happening and counteract it."

"Unless you're like an animal or grimm." Jaune blurted out, pride in his voice at remembering a fact he was once struggling to understand. "Weiss told me that."

"You're right Jaune." Pyrrha said, proud of her team leader. "So my question is, how could that possibly explain Ruby's behavior? She would know what's happening to her."

Yang breathed in deeply, holding it for a moment she released it before matching Pyrrha's gaze. "Ruby was kept in a medically induced coma for two weeks while that woman, 'whispered into her dreams.' Implanting thoughts into her mind. She wanted Ruby to become her faithful soldier."

"Wait," Jaune said scratching his head in confusion. "I thought you guys said it wasn't mind control, that anyone would realize what was happening to them?"

"Normally that would be the case." Pyrrha started. "I mean I've read about people attempting to try what this woman did, implanting simple thoughts into their victims. But I've never heard of it actually working. You see Jaune, how it would work is you have to implant a simple idea, no commands or anything complex. Like if that was your semblance, you couldn't tell Nora here to kill Ren. Her mind would recognize it was a foreign idea and reject it. So in theory what you would have to do is instill the idea that Ren is not to be trusted then let Nora's mind take that idea and let it grow on its own until she decides to kill Ren. However, the few times I've ever heard of someone trying something like that, it never worked out. Conflicting thoughts tended to cause the victims to have mental breakdowns. Unless of course the suggestion had a basis in fact, like Ren was caught stealing Nora's pancakes."

Nora proceeded to shoot a death glare at Ren for the imagined slight.

Pyrrha stopped, realising the significance of what she just said.

"Ya, what we did to her." Depression filled Blake's voice.

Glee filled Jaune's face. "That's good right. Well not the part about what happened to Ruby, that's horrible. But this, we can snap Ruby out of it right?"

Pyrrha rested her hand on Jaune's shoulder, slowly shaking her head. "It doesn't work that way Jaune. This isn't like the books. Ruby isn't under some magic spell or anything like that. You can't 'snap her out if it.' Her mind was implanted with simple ideas, and those ideas grew on their own. The idea is like lighting a spark that slowly grew and spread into something all its own. This anger and desire to kill, its all Ruby. Nothing short of intense therapy is going to make that go away." Pyrrha tried to explain to her leader the unfortunate truth of Ruby''s situation. An idea, the most powerful force in the world, had taken hold in the young huntress's mind, and there was no removing it.

Yang slammed her fists into legs before yelling. "Don't you say that! Don't tell me I got my sister back only for her to be a lost cause. Don't you dare!" Blake reached over and pulled Yang into a one armed hug. "This is Ruby. She just came back, don't say that."

* * *

She needed to end this. Everyone who ever pretended to care about her was after her. Ruby Rose needed to be safe, but that was not going to happen while everyone she knew wanted to hurt her.

The girl in the black hood stalked through the outskirts of Beacon under the cover of night. The darkness a perfect camouflage for her. '_They're coming for me. I need to stop them. I need to be safe.'_ She had to destroy her. The one who started all of this. The one who corrupted her sister and all her friends. Ruby knew that maybe, just maybe, killing the ice queen would put everything right.

* * *

Bland and dull, her room at Beacon's medical wing reminded Weiss all too much of home. It was almost as if both places had the same decorator. Sure the white walls suited the Schnee estate, but even that failed to make her home in Atlas more welcoming. Here, on the other hand, only served to leave an air of depression with the young Schnee.

She was sitting up in her bed, even at this late hour she was too restless to find sleep. Her friends were supposed to update her on their fact finding missions. Yet somehow, none of them had bothered to fill her in yet. '_Just because I'm under observation with a couple broken ribs doesn't mean I should be left out of the loop.' _As much as her friend's utter lack of consideration annoyed her, worry as to what could be taking them so long plagued her mind more. Not that she would ever admit it.

A loud crash from the hallway interrupted her thoughts. From what Weiss could tell it came from the same direction as the nurse's office. Weiss's eyes shot around her room looking for anything to use as a weapon. Settling on the her IV hanger she rolled to her left to grab it, wincing in pain as her fingers reached for the metal rod. The wooden door slammed open to reveal a dark hooded form.

* * *

Jaune paced in the space between the two center beds trying to process all that had been said. "So you're telling me that Ruby has a hit out on her from the same lady who turned her against us?" A simple nod from Yang was the only response he received. Jaune was at a lost for words. Unsure how to handle this situation he continued to pace. His friend, the first one he met at Beacon, was now messed up in the head with armed thugs after her. He knew he needed some way to help her, but as long as she still wanted to kill her friends such a task would be impossible. "I don't know what to do." Dejected, he sat back down next to Pyrrha. For the first time, he had no plan, no clever way out, no way to help his friends. A sorrow creeped through him has he tried to come to grips with the situation before him. "Even if we find Ruby again, what are we going to do? When we found her in that apartment, she was so scared. I've never seen her like that. So much terror in her eyes. When she saw us, she didn't see friends, more like nightmares. How are we supposed to help her when she's so utterly petrified by us?"

"Maybe we don't." Astonished stares resulted from Ren's statement. His blunt, cold response to Jaune's question left the room speechless.

"How can you even say that?" Pyrrha asked, taken aback.

"We have to accept the possibility that Ruby can't be saved. She honestly believes that we are out to kill her and its unlikely we can convince her otherwise. She's already demonstrated her willingness to kill." Ren's gaze turned to an injured Nora as he remembered Ruby standing over her, ready to kill his friend. "In the mean time getting in the middle of her and the syndicate out to get her is only going to result in the rest of us getting hurt or killed." His frigid answer seemed to pain him to say. He did not like it anymore than the rest of them, but he knew it had to be said. No one argued; they all knew what he said was true, but no one else wanted to admit it.

Yang had it with this line of discussion. Frustrated and not wanting to listen to any more, she rose from the bed where she sat and marched toward the door. "I'm going to let Weiss know we got back and tell her what happened. She'd want to know." She left, not even bothering to close the door behind her.

"I'm going to go with her." Blake said as she left to follow her partner.

The pair walked silently over to the medical building, Blake thought it was best not to restart the Ruby conversation. Yang had enough issues already and continuing the discussion about her sister was not going to help anything. Upon entering Blake and Yang found the on duty nurse slumped over her desk. Snapping into action, Yang activated her gauntlets and Blake drew her sword. Blake reached over the desk to check on the nurse. Out cold. Would have a headache tomorrow, but for now she was for the most part, okay. Fists held out ready to shoot any attackers, Yang carefully approached Weiss's room with Blake following just behind.

They found Weiss's hospital room door ajar, the light inside was off. The pair leaned against the wall next to the door, readying themselves to breach the room. A quick nod let the partners know they were ready. Yang spun around and sent the door flying fully open with a swift kick, letting out a scream as she did so. She found the room empty; the sheets had slash marks across them and the IV hanger lay in pieces on the floor.

Panic began to fill the blonde, she knew exactly who did this and it's alarming implications. Her eyes met Blake's, her voice filled with worry, Yang spoke.

"Weiss, Ruby has Weiss!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Here you go guys, the second to last chapter of "The Red Hood."

The idea of Kaana implanting thoughts into Ruby was what I was talking about when I was asking about hints. Back in chapter 3 when Ruby is having those thought conversations with herself, the one telling her all the bad things referred to her as "Little One." The same pet name Kaana gave her. So I was trying to hit that something was off about this woman. That's also why I had Jaune ask about the semblance called influence. I didn't want to pull that out of nowhere.

I liked the idea of having someone mess with Ruby's head, making her both the antagonist and the victim. So her friends have to not only save the people they care about, but also deal with what the possible consequences of doing so might do to the other victim in all this. I thought it would be more interesting to write about than "Ruby goes after her evil betrayers."

Feel free to review and follow. Thank you for reading.


	14. The Confrontation

Pain. Thick coords cut into her bound wrists as she hung suspended, her bare toes brushing the cold tile floor. Weiss opened her eyes to reveal she was hanging at the front of a lit classroom. Looking up she could see a rope was wrapped several times around each wrist then around the space between, providing a robust shackle. The other end of the rope was tied off to a pipe in the ceiling, through the space once occupied by the torn out ceiling tiles. Out the windows to her left she could see the night sky. Whether it was still the same night she was taken, Weiss could not tell. In front of her sat rows of desks, many of which now lay in pieces strewn across the floor. Pacing amongst the wreckage wearing a black hooded cape and tightly gripping a long red scythe was Ruby.

Her captor fumed as she paced, an anger which turned to Weiss the moment Ruby saw she was now awake.

"You!" Ruby screamed, after rushing towards Weiss, their faces now inches apart. "You! You!" Ruby let out a primal scream as she spun in place and imbedded the blade of her scythe into the blackboard adjacent to the bound girl. Weiss flinched as pieces pelted her body and face, the hospital scrubs she wore not offering nearly enough protection.

"Ruby please!" Weiss cried. "Please just listen to me!"

"No you listen!" Ruby shouted as she grabbed Weiss's head in both hands. "Why? How could you do that to me? What did I ever do to you?" Her voice held with it passion and rage.

Before Weiss could utter a word, Ruby slammed her head into the wall behind her, releasing another yell as she did so. Dazed, Weiss watched Ruby retrieve her scythe and continue her determined pacing. The girl in black gripped her forehead and hair tightly with her free hand as she began muttering to herself, seemingly uninterested in anything the white haired would say.

"Ruby, I never…" She paused, the pain in her chest was making it hard to breathe. "I never wanted to hurt you. It was an accident. You have to believe me." Tears were now streaming down her cheeks, not from the physical pain, but from watching what her friend had become.

"No!" Ruby turned back to yell at Weiss. "Everything you said was a lie!" She swung the blunt end of the scythe into Weiss's chest, causing her to wail in pain. Breathing heavily, Ruby stared into Weiss's eyes. Even though her hostage was bound and beaten, she still looked at Ruby with sadness and concern, not for herself, but for Ruby.

In another outburst of rage, Ruby spun around and smashed her scythe into more desks.

* * *

Rushing through the hallway, most of JNPR finally met up with Blake and Yang. Nora was absent under Ren's insistence that she should stay in bed because of her injuries. Ren was still worried about Nora's health following her injury earlier that day. It had been a fight getting Nora to agree to stay behind, the energetic hammer wielder did not wish to sit idly by while her friends went out to fight. Even though she protested, saying that she was fine and Ren was just "being a worry wart," She eventually relented, allowing her teammates to go on without her.

"What's the plan?" Jaune said as he reached the duo. He leaned over resting his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Look, I don't know. Like I told you guys, we got to Weiss's room, the place was trashed and she was gone." Said an exacerbated Yang. Her own frustration was beginning to boil over.

Blake stepped between the two and spoke. "We know Weiss is still alive. If Ruby just wanted to kill her she would have done it in the room. So she must want Weiss alive for right now."

Having finally caught his breath, Jaune straightened up. "Why would Ruby want Weiss alive?" He asked confused.

"So she can take her time." Ren stated coldly.

The others gave no responses, not wanting to bring up what their once sweet Ruby could be doing to the object of her hatred.

"We just need to forget about that for right now and instead focus on finding Weiss." Pyrrha cut in, urgency in in voice. "Yang think, where would Ruby have taken Weiss?"

Yang pressed her fingers to her temple and closed her eyes, calling forth her years of being Ruby's big sister. Ever since they were little, her sister had always been an open book to her.

"Okay" She said, opening her eyes and throwing her hand out to silence anyone who may speak. "She can't have gone far. Look, Ruby's not carrying an unconscious or struggling Weiss onto the airship. That's not happening. So she has to be still at Beacon."

Her friends looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Pyrrha then spoke up. "Where would Ruby have gone than?"

After thinking for a moment Yang spoke once more. "She mentioned something once about some building at the back of campus that no one ever got around to locking at night. Maybe there?"

Pyrrha noded. "Secluded, easy access, it sounds like a good place. Come on, Let's go." Her years of combat training took over

"Wait!" Blake called out before the group could start moving. "The people who are after Ruby, if they wanted to find her the most likely thing they would have done would be to keep eyes on her target. We may be difficult to track, but Weiss was stuck in a hospital bed. They were probably watching when Ruby grabbed her."

"Meaning whoever's after Ruby now knows where she is and will go after her, possibly killing Weiss in the process." Jaune said with unease.

* * *

Ruby stood before the object of her hatred, the one who caused everyone to abandon her. It was her fault, everything at happed, the pain, the betrayals, because of the girl who now hung before her. This girl insisted on spewing lies, endlessly begging for her worthless life. This pathetic rich girl would say anything if it meant saving her own skin, Ruby knew this and refused to fall for any of her tricks.

"Would you just stop it. Geesh." Ruby's annoyed words cut off Weiss's incessant whining. She moved in close to her captive and lightly dragged the blade of her scythe along Weiss's side, not hard enough to cut, but enough that she could feel it's sharpness though her shirt. Weiss shivered as the cold metal ran along her body.

"P… P… Please. Don't do this." Weiss begged between sobs.

"What, haven't you ever heard of 'what goes around comes around'"? Ruby shook her head in mock disbelief. "Well I guess its time for me to teach you something new for a change."

* * *

Five young huntsmen and huntresses raced through the dark back of Beacon's campus. At this late hour the only light came from the streetlamps. "Wait!" Blake called, halting the group's frantic search for their missing friend and teammate. "Listen." The faunus said in a hushed tone.

Soon what Blake was referring too became clear, a low hum of an engine, rapidly becoming louder. Out of the night came the silver body of a bullhead. The tilt engine aircraft flew low along the nearby treetops in an attempt to evade detection. Without a word, the group members dove for cover behind nearby buildings. The aircraft soon came to a stop not far from the buildings where the students hid; the large hatch in it's side slid open and a ramp lowered to meet the ground. Out came five men carrying guns and swords, followed by a faunus woman with tiger ears and tail dressed in green and black.

"Oh great." Jaune said sarcastically. "Of course the people after Ruby had to show up." It seemed their rescue mission was destined to be much more complicated than previously intended.

"We don't have time for this." Yang hissed.

"Its okay I got it," Jaune started. "You and Blake go get Weiss, we'll keep 'em distracted."

Concern in her eyes, Yang looked at Jaune and spoke. "Are you sure?"

Jaune put on a smirk and reached for his sword. "Don't worry. We got this."

As Blake and Yang raced off, Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren approached the group lead by the tiger faunus, making their presence known. "Out of my way!" Shara declared, her whole body tensed up, ready for combat. She had no time to deal with these nuisances, she had a mission and these students were not getting in her way. The men accompanying her drew their weapons on the three approaching figures.

"I don't think so." Jaune tried to put on his most intimidating voice as he drew his sword. "You're after my friend, I'm not letting you near her." He hoped he did not let his nervousness show through. Following their leader, Ren and Pyrrha unsheathed their own weapons. Ren held his twin machine pistols calmly at his side, while Pyrrha followed suit with her spear and shield.

Shara rolled her eyes. "Look honey, I've got a job to do and I don't feel like letting you, mister pink streak, and little miss breastplate here get in my way." Finishing her declaration, Shara launched a pair of glowing orbs at Jaune. The young swordsman rolled to allow the orbs to pass harmlessly over him. Ren took advantage of this, leaping into an attack on the tiger eared faunus, firing his pair of weapons as he flew at her.

Pyrrha threw her shield through two other attackers and rushed into melee with a third while Jaune clashed with the two remaining henchmen.

* * *

Blake and Yang quickly spotted a lit classroom on the third floor of the building farthest from campus, they knew this had to be where Weiss was being held. The pair rushed through the nearest entrance and made their way up the closest stairwell. Hastily, they ascended the stairs two at a time. Soon they reached the classroom, both of it's doors shined light into the dim hall by way of their glass windows. Blake and Yang quietly approached the classroom's rear door. listening to the sounds of one girl crying and another yelling. Blake gently grabbed Yang by the shoulder, a quiet signal that she had something to say.

"Remember why we're here." The faunus whispered. "We need to get Weiss out of there. Just, stick to the plan." Blake hated having to prioritize their friends like this. But they were all well aware that trying to save Weiss and somehow get through to Ruby while they could be attacked at any moment, would only put all of them, Ruby included, in more danger.

"I know." Yang replied softly removing Blake's hand. "I'll handle Ruby, she's my sister. You get Weiss to safety."

* * *

"You tried to kill me, why? What did I ever do to you? And then… And then you turn Yang and Blake and all of them against me. Why would you do this to me?" In her fit of rage, Ruby had been repeating her questions to Weiss, every response the heiress gave only served to make the girl in the black hood more emotional.

"Ruby, I never meant to hurt you. You're my teammate, and my best friend. You have to believe me!" Weiss pleaded; her words only seemed to agitate her captor further.

Ruby cried out, swinging the scythe towards Weiss, embedding above her head in the chalkboard. Weiss screamed as she was showered in debris. As the scythe was extracted, Ruby glared at her hostage, the girl who continued to beg for her pitiful life.

"Hey, Ruby." A calm, almost sorrowful, voice came from the back of the classroom. Ruby spun around to see Yang, wearing her old red cape, strolling towards her along the side wall. Yang never took her eyes of Ruby, even as she stepped over pieces of chair. Ruby marched to meet her older sister at the middle of the room, holding the scythe at her side.

"What are you doing here Yang?" Ruby asked in an aggressive, accusatory tone. "Are you here to perform a daring rescue of the princess. Maybe pick her up in your arms and run away to safety." Ruby shook her head in disbelief. "After everything she did to me, your own sister, and you side with her!" She yelled at her unflinching sister. "Why?"

"Ruby please, I just want to talk. You and me. Sister to sister." Yang opened her arms in a show of peace. "Why are you doing this? What do you hope to accomplish? You're going to kill Weiss and then what? Go home? Attend Beacon?" She said desperately trying to reach what was left of her sister, knowing fully well that any wrong move or phrase would cause her to shut down.

"I just… I need…" The girl's confusion and anger was clear to Yang. "She stabbed me and left me to be eaten by beowolfs. And now she gets to just go on as if nothing happened while everyone I know abandons me!"

While the sisters talked, Ruby did not appear to notice or care when Blake snuck in the door at the front of the classroom. Blake quietly approached the dangling Weiss and drew her sword. Weiss couldn't help but get out a sigh of relief at seeing her rescuer. For a second the thought of how backwards this all was, a faunus, a former member of the White Fang even, rescuing her from a human. If it wasn't for the life or death situation starring her back-from-the-dead team leader, she would have found this amusing.

Swiftly slicing her bonds Blake lowered Weiss to the floor as Ruby continued her tirade.

"Everyone leaves me. Everyone who I thought cared, just abandons me. Weiss, Blake, You, Kaana… Mom." She paused, closing her eyes for a moment. "I don't want to be alone." Ruby was visibly forcing herself not to cry.

"Wait." Weiss whispered as Blake started to pull herself and Weiss to their feet.

"Ruby," Yang said, sadness filling her voice. "We never abandoned you. We're right here, all of us. Please just calm down and listen to me. I love you, and we're here to help you." She said stepping around Ruby so her body was between her sister and the rest of her teammates. "And we'll always be here for you."

Seeing Weiss and Blake, the one who stabbed her, and the one who left her, sitting there, only caused Ruby to return to her rage. "Out of the way Yang! I have to finish this." She said readying herself in her attack stance, the barrel of her scythe pointed behind her, ready to use the blast to boost her speed.

"I can't let you do that." Yang declared, readying herself for Ruby's attack.

Ruby's eyes narrowed on her sister, the girl insisted on stopping her vengeance. The two stared each other down, silently waiting for the other to strike first. Ruby fired Crescent Rose behind her, causing her to launch towards Yang. She swung the scythe down at her sister who quickly blocked the blow with her gauntlet only for Ruby to reach back for another hit.

* * *

Shara nimbly cartwheeled away from Ren's incoming shots while firing balls of energy in return. Pyrrha continued her clash with her two remaining assailants as Jaune continued to deal with the last two. The tiger faunus threw another orb at Ren who leaped over it. Unfortunately for Ren, he missed the one aimed squarely for where he was going to land. Bolts of electricity exploded around him. Ren's body seared with pain as he was driven to his knees.

Smugly, Shara grasped his dark hair tugged on it, forcing his gaze to meet her own. Her other hand pressed to his chest, sending more electricity burning through his body.

"Now you little twat, as much fun as this is, I really don't have time to deal with your nonsense."

Ren clenched his teeth to prevent himself from yelling in pain.

"Ren!" He could hear his team leader call out to him. He knew the pair could not help him in time, their own battles keeping them occupied. Not that he could help himself much in this situation, his muscles paralyzed by the current coursing through his body. Looking up at his attacker, Ren saw something on the roof of the adjacent building. Summoning what was left of his strength, he definitely stared into his opponent's eyes and spoke.

"You come after our friends, you'll have to deal with us, and I promise you miss, you are in for a world of pain." Power and confidence flowed through his words.

Still smug from her guaranteed victory, she leaned in closer to her target. "Believe me, you're in no position to be bringing me any amount of pain."

A grin spread across Ren's face. "I'm not the one who's going to bring it." With a nod, He gestured above and behind Shara. She spun around, dropping Ren in the process, and looked up to see what he meant.

"Smash!" Flying down from the rooftop came a smile and a hammer, the former swinging down at Shara.

The thunderous impact launched Shara away from Ren, crashing through the opposing building's brickwork.

"Ren!" Nora knelt down next to her injured friend. "Are you okay. Did that lady hurt you?" The childlike way Nora asked that question brought a smile to Ren's face.

"I'm fine Nora. Didn't I tell you to stay in bed?" He asked, not sure why he expected anything else.

"I was bored all by myself." She said with a smile. Nora heard bricks moving in the newly minted building entranceway. A devilish grin sprouted on her face as she gripped her hammer tighter and turned to the woman emerging from the rubble.

"You hurt Ren. Taste. My. Hammer!" Nora swung her hammer like a golf club, punting Shara towards the bullhead. By the time Shara landed, Nora was right there to deliver more blows. Nora saw something in the woman's eyes, something few people ever saw in those eyes, fear.

The bullhead's engines roared to life as the pilot pulled the aircraft off the ground. Spinning the aircraft around to point it's nose towards Shara and Nora, the bullhead's autocannon erupted in a shower of lead. Nora leaped backwards to avoid being hit, unfortunately this allowed for Shara to make a break for the open hatchway. She leaped upwards to grasp the aircraft's extended ramp and pulled herself up. Once inside, the bullhead started off, leaving the other henchmen behind. Nora, not content with the amount of punishment she dished out thus far, fired a volley of grenades into the open hatchway. The bullhead shook with each explosion. The fleeing aircraft then flared it's engines and pulled into the sky, leaving JNPR and the henchmen.

Nora smiled at one of the henchmen fighting Jaune. With JNPR at full strength, this wouldn't take long.

* * *

Hit after hit Ruby slammed into Yang, only for her sister to block with her gauntlets. All the feelings of abandonment, the pain, the loss, channeled into every swing. Her sister made no attempt to attack, simply moving her arms to block the incoming blows.

"Ruby, we're here for you." Yang calmly stated, she took a short step towards her sister.

"No!" Ruby screamed. "I hate you! I hate all of you!" She swung Crescent Rose again and again. Metal met metal, in a flurry of swings and emotion. Yang continued to slowly approach her distraught sister, calmly deflecting and blocking the incoming attacks. Ruby was too focused on rage to mount a proper attack.

"This isn't you Ruby." Yang said, collapsing her gauntlets. "We're here to help you. I'm here to help you." With that she removed her yellow combat gauntlets and tossed them aside. "You don't have to be alone anymore."

"Stop, stop it!" Ruby screamed as she swung her scythe again. Only this time Yang did not block, she stood firm and took the hit, stumbling slightly from the force of the impact. Ruby's confused thoughts swirled in her mind. Fear and pain, abandonment and warmth, loneliness and home.

"Remember Ruby when I first discovered my semblance. I was so scared of my fire. All I could see was the destruction, that at any moment I could destroy everything and hurt the ones I cared about." Yang continued to close the gap between the two, reeling from each of Ruby's attacks. "I hid up in my room refusing to come out thinking I was a walking time bomb, ready to go off and destroy everything. But there you were, my sweet innocent little sister. As much as I tried to make to go away for your own good, you sat down next to me and started to talk. You're the one who told me that my semblance wasn't about destruction, it was warmth and love. My fire came from a place of passion, passion for those I care about." Yang opened her arms wide. With each swing, Ruby's attacks lost energy. "That's who my little sister is. A caring soul who only wants to help people. This isn't you. You would never want to hurt another person, let alone your friends. I know you're in pain. I know you feel alone and betrayed, but we're here for you, all of us."

Being too close to swing it, Ruby dropped her scythe. Tears flowing from her eyes Ruby started pounding on her sister's chest.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it." Each shout losing intensity. Every emotion and memory from her tragedy flooded the young girl. Yang wrapped her arms around her sister and squeezed her into an embrace. Ruby thrashed in Yang's grasp, pounding away at her sister's chest, the flow of tears gaining strength.

"Shh, its okay. Its all gonna be okay." Yang soothed, slowing rocking side to side. "I love you Ruby."

Ruby's struggles slowly faded. Her fists gripped Yang's shirt, protests morphed into cries. Ruby pulled herself tighter into her sister's embrace and sobbed. All the loneliness and fear poured out with her tears.

The pair lowered to the floor and Ruby slipped her arms around her big sister, pulling her even closer.

"There you go Ruby." Yang's soothing voice calming the girl. "Let it out. Let it all out." She moved her hand up and stroked Ruby's short hair.

"I… I was... so scared." Ruby let out between sobs. "I was so alone."

"I know Ruby. You don't have to be any more."

The two sat there on the tile floor, slowly rocking side to side, one girl crying, the other holding her tight. Blake and Weiss wiped away their own tears as they watched the pair.

They don't know how long they sat there like that. Eventually Ruby's sobs turned into sniffles and Yang loosened her vise-like grip on the younger girl. With the hand that was stroking Ruby's hair, Yang released the clasps holding Ruby's black hood in place, letting it slide to the floor. Yang then reached around and undid the red hood she was wearing and pulled it across Ruby's back, clasping it into place.

"There you go." She said softly. "Back where it belongs."

Yang held the sniffling girl until she slipped into sleep. Her first tranquil slumber in a long time.

* * *

Epilogue

Ruby's eyes slowly opened onto an unfamiliar ceiling. The soft beeping of hospital monitors told her where she currently was. She could feel herself under covers of a hospital bed, but something wasn't quite right. A pressure in the mattress, it created a depression that her body wanted to slip into. Turning gaze, Ruby saw the source of the disturbance, Yang, curled up next to her in the bed. At her feet, Ruby could see Blake, legs resting on a chair, the rest of her sleeping at the foot of Ruby's bed. Next to her bed sat another hospital bed, only this one cared a sleeping Weiss.

Sitting up slightly Ruby could see four more forms sitting against the opposing wall. Jaune and Pyrrha were leaning against each other as they slept. Ren slept cross legged with is back on the wall, as if he was meditating. Nora on the other hand, lounged using Ren's lap as a pillow.

Ruby laid back into bed and closed her eyes.

She wasn't alone.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Thank you all for reading and supporting, it means a lot to me and this was a lot of fun, and I love to read your reviews.  
**

**Right now I'm debating writing a sequel about Ruby's recovery. Since there is no way someone could go through something like that and not be a little messed up. As much as I would like to continue this story and explore Ruby's recovery, I believe the best stories need to know when to end. So that's why I'm considering a sequel at some point in the future.  
**

** But in the mean time I'll probably work on a couple other stories I have in mind. Heck, I've already posted the prologue to one of them and the first chapter has been mostly done for a couple of weeks now.**

**Because I had so much fun making them here are my OCs and what characters inspired them:**

**Kaana: Kaa from The Jungle Book. Hence her semblance.**

**Shara: Shere Khan also from The Jungle Book. (I am not creative with names apparently.)**

**Brontana: Tony Montana from Scarface. I wanted to do a character who would use dust by sniffing it like cocaine. Will probably use that idea in another story.**

**Mr. Melon. Because Melonhammer was a little too, on the nose.  
**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Ninja Edit: I just looked at the stats. 100 followers! You guys are amazing. Thank you all so much for your awesome reviews, it means a lot to me.**


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